Gary O'Neil has hailed Newcastle United as a 'top side' but the Bournemouth boss felt his team did not get 'much help' from the referee during the Magpies' 1-0 win.
Newcastle progressed to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night thanks to an own goal from Adam Smith in the 67th minute. It was not exactly a classic at St James' Park - both sides were a little rusty in their first competitive game since the World Cup break - but Newcastle found a way to win in front of 51,579 supporters.
This last 16 tie actually resembled the corresponding fixture in the Premier League earlier this season. Newcastle were again dominant - the hosts had 63% possession, 17 shots and six corners - but virus-hit Bournemouth set out to frustrate once more. Bournemouth had chances to score themselves through Kieffer Moore and Dominic Solanke in the second half, but the visitors were unable to find an equaliser.
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Although O'Neil was keen to pay tribute to Newcastle's 'top side' and 'fantastic players' after the game, the Bournemouth manager did not think referee John Brooks offered his strikers enough protection.
"I didn't feel like Kieffer or Dom got much help from the ref to be honest," he told reporters. "Newcastle were clever with sort of nudges in the back. Dom's got a nasty stamp on his foot and one in the first half.
"Of course, away to Newcastle, you don't expect to be the dominant force but I felt we carried a threat. I thought there was always something there that kept Newcastle honest and made sure they knew we could hurt them with what we set up. I'm just disappointed that we didn't manage to make one of the moments count really."
Bournemouth did benefit from a controversial call, though, midway through the first half when Callum Wilson's goal was belatedly disallowed following protests from the visitors. It was not clear if the officials felt Joe Willock was, somehow, interfering with play in inadvertently preventing Bournemouth's defenders from tackling Wilson but Eddie Howe admitted after the game that if the decision had been incorrect, he was 'disappointed' VAR was not in use like it would be for Premier League games.
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