Eddie Howe always knew his return to Bournemouth would fiddle with his emotions. Long before masterminding their incredible rise from League Two to the Premier League, there were the days when his mother, Anne, would drive him into training as a 12-year-old at the club’s centre of excellence. His homecoming inevitably stirred memories but at full-time the thoughts at the forefront of his mind centred on Newcastle’s fifth draw in six league matches extending their unbeaten run to 17 games. After all, he has banned his children from talking about the Carabao Cup final.
Naturally, there was a tinge of disappointment but Howe also recognised Newcastle were fortunate to end up with a point, surviving a late fright when Kieran Trippier’s goalline clearance approaching seven minutes of second-half stoppage time denied Dominic Solanke, whom Howe signed for Bournemouth, a late winner. Bournemouth’s players prayed Trippier’s intervention was too late to stop Solanke’s backheel from Hamed Traoré’s cross going over the line, but the referee, Stuart Attwell, checked his watch and replays showed the Newcastle captain did just enough.
