Ange Postecoglou has claimed that the “powerful” atmosphere at St James’ Park is helping Newcastle United receive “small” decisions from the referees.
Another tense performance from the Toon saw Eddie Howe’s men claim a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur – despite being bottom for long periods. Both of Newcastle’s goals came in the middle of the game, but it didn’t matter to the home fans at the end of the game.
The Magpies thumped Tottenham for the third consecutive season to maintain their unbeaten start to the 2024-25 season. After the game, Spurs boss Postecoglou praised the atmosphere on Tyneside but insisted referee Rob Jones’ performance had affected it.
“(It was) very similar, I guess our first away game, when we controlled it for the most part, it killed most of the threats that Newcastle have,” he said. – He is obviously a tough opponent at home. The crowd creates a strong atmosphere for the home team. Little things go their way, but for the most part I thought we handled it very well.
“We dominated the game and needed to kill it – we didn’t. I thought we settled down a bit but the game should have been over by then. When the opposing defense stays deep it’s quite difficult sometimes there’s 10 bodies there, apart from Isak, everyone else is there (defending).
“We just lacked a bit of composure. Sometimes our positioning was outside where we should have been with the work and we let them down. So, another pain (result), unfortunately, where we didn’t get rewarded for our play. But in the but at the end of the day, three strong games from the first three games don’t reflect that.”