Newcastle 2 Bournemouth 2 – Saturday 5 September 2026 12.30pm
Two goals for AFC Bournemouth, both scored with help from deflections, were cancelled out by two quality strikes by Newcastle United.
We were uncomfortably second best for most of the first half and probably deserved no more than one point from a niggly, badly-refereed match. . . though after the interval we had the better chances.
For the first 35 minutes, we played as if we were a bunch of strangers with familiar old failings: weak in the tackle, sloppy passing, often half a yard off the pace.
The referee ignored a lot of Bournemouth’s spoiling tactics but the visitors needed little help to take a 2-0 lead that could easily have been four.
Dedic and Hall were struggling, with little support from Elanga and Barnes. Botman and Thiaw gave the ball away in dangerous areas and Gonzalez was fortunate to avoid a yellow card.
Then Hall found Barnes in a bit of space on the left flank. He cut back onto his right foot and bent an unstoppable shot high into the far corner of the net with our first effort on target.
Some observers were likening this new version of United to The Entertainers but I don’t recall Keegan’s team being so wasteful in possession and listless. Mind, they rarely had to cope with such an incompetent referee in the first half of any game.
We started the second half on the front foot and Willock came within a foot of equalising with a header after a great Wissa break down the right. There was a clear momentum shift, with United looking the more likely scorers.
Hall tried his luck from distance in a short-corner routine on the hour but his left-footer lacked the precision of Barnes.
Willock and Miley were replaced by Fernandez-Pardo and Ramsey. Our latest recruit quickly won a free kick 34 yards out that came to nothing when the ref stopped play again.
The visitors were wilfully disrupting the game at every opportunity. Jaissle’s frustration earned him the first but almost certainly not the last card of his Premier League career.
Bournemouth were containing our efforts. Murphy and Steur replaced Elanga and Gonzalez with 15 minutes left. Initially, they had as little impact as the earlier subs.
There seemed almost no chance of another goal as Scott continued to win free kicks and look the best midfielder on the park, just as he had in the same fixture last April.
Hornicek’s kicking became ragged. Hall looked uncomfortable but out of nowhere we equalised.
An underhit Murphy centre was cleared to Dedic. His best cross of the day found Botman in the box. His header down led to one blocked shot before Ramsey rifled a low strike into the far corner from 18 yards.
Livramento came on for the final few minutes, his first action since he limped off against Bournemouth before the World Cup.
Deep into stoppage time Barnes won a free kick 30 yards out but Dedic capped a sub-par performance by firing high over the bar.
When Scott was replaced in the 96th minute, simply to waste a few seconds, the referee took note and added on no more time. Compare with the stoppage-time substitution we made when leading Liverpool 2-1 two weeks ago.
We remain unbeaten and Bournemouth continue to be a thorn in our side.
Newcastle 2 Bournemouth 2 – Saturday 5 September 2026 12.30pm
Match Stats
Goals:
Newcastle United:
Barnes 37, Ramsey 88
Bournemouth:
Tavernier 9, Thiaw OG 35
Possession was Newcastle 57% Bournemouth 43%
Total shots were Newcastle 8 Bournemouth 17
Shots on target were Newcastle 2 Bournemouth 5
Corners were Newcastle 4 Bournemouth 3
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 19 Bournemouth 23
Newcastle team v Bournemouth:
Hornicek, Dedic, Thiaw, Botman, Hall (Livramento 90), Lewis Miley (Ramsey 63), Gonzalez (Steur 77), Elanga (Murphy 78), Barnes, Willock (Fernandez-Pardo 63), Wissa
So it is unchanged from Spurs.
Unused subs:
Pope, Schar, Bamba, Toure