Howe takes blame as Newcastle lose late at Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace punished Newcastle United’s late collapse at Selhurst Park, where Jean-Philippe Mateta came off the bench to score in the 80th minute and then again from the penalty spot in the 90+4th minute to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win. Eddie Howe took the blame afterward, calling himself “accountable” and saying, “I’m not blind to anything,” after Newcastle had led through William Osula’s 43rd-minute goal.

The defeat landed hard because it came after Newcastle had gone three weeks without a game, a pause that Howe said made it harder to find a rhythm. Newcastle were 1-0 up at halftime, but Palace, who had also rotated with one eye on their Conference League quarter-final second leg against Fiorentina on Thursday, April 17, found a stronger response from the bench. Howe said he always looks at himself first and is “number one accountable,” a verdict that matched the mood after another lead slipped away.

Newcastle dropped to 14th place and were reported to be five points behind seventh-placed Brentford, leaving their hopes of European qualification hanging by a thread. The result deepened the sense that this season’s problem is not just bad luck at the end of matches, but a repeated failure to protect winning positions. One report said Newcastle have now dropped 25 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, five more than any other side.

Howe made six changes to his starting line-up, including leaving out senior defenders Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier. Palace boss Oliver Glasner also altered his side, benching Adam Wharton, Ismaïla Sarr and Mateta before bringing them on to change the game. Palace had only played in Europe the previous Thursday, yet their substitutions supplied the urgency Newcastle lacked after the long layoff.

The loss also followed the bruising Tyne-Wear derby defeat to Sunderland before the international break, a defeat that had already shaken Newcastle’s momentum. Howe’s side won the Carabao Cup and ended a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy last season, but that form has not carried into this campaign. At Selhurst Park, the question was not whether Palace had the sharper finish. It was whether Newcastle were beaten by Palace itself, or by the rhythm disruption built into the calendar.