There was once a time where a point at Selhurst Park was as good as celebrated by Newcastle United. Not anymore.
Newcastle may have set new club records, after extending their unbeaten run in the top-flight to 15 games and keeping a sixth successive clean sheet, but the reaction of players and staff following Saturday's goalless draw against Crystal Palace was rather telling. Kieran Trippier admitted it was a 'missed opportunity'. Bruno Guimaraes felt 'frustrated'. Eddie Howe revealed it was a 'disappointed' changing room.
It was another sign of how far Newcastle had come. This is a side, after all, who had just moved back up to third in the table and opened up a six-point gap on fifth-placed Spurs yet, still, they wanted more.
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Newcastle certainly had opportunities to take all three points on an evening where the dominant visitors had 61% possession, 16 shots and 15 corners in the capital. For context, on their last visit to Selhurst, under interim boss Graeme Jones, Newcastle only had 25% of the ball, six shots and seven corners.
There is a very different dynamic to this fixture in 2023 and Miguel Almiron, Dan Burn, Joelinton (twice), Callum Wilson, Alexander Isak and Allan Saint-Maximin all had decent openings inside the box yet, crucially, the Magpies failed to make Vicente Guaita work enough. It was a reminder that Newcastle still have work to do in front of goal and in the final nine days of the window for that matter to bring in a replacement for Chris Wood.
Howe wants a forward who is 'ready to go now' and, rather than this being a like-for-like target man, Newcastle are looking at players who can play across the frontline. It is certainly not a coincidence that those summer links to Everton forward Anthony Gordon have resurfaced. A spiky Frank Lampard, for his part, simply said 'no' when asked on Saturday if he could shed any light on the matter after Gordon was left on the bench in the 2-0 defeat at West Ham, a result which could seal the Everton boss' fate.
One area that does not need strengthening, however, is the goalkeeping department and Newcastle were indebted to Nick Pope for producing the save of the game against Palace in the 73rd minute after the England goalkeeper, somehow, tipped substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta's venomous effort over the bar. That chance ultimately proved Palace's only shot on target on a night where Patrick Vieira's team once again frustrated Newcastle and kept Howe's side out for the third game running this season.
Yet it was perhaps a compliment to Newcastle that not only did deep-lying Palace allow the visitors to have so much possession; the Magpies' players and staff were also booed off the field by a large section of the home support who stayed behind after the full-time whistle and repeatedly sang an anti-Saudi chant. This latest send-off came just a couple of weeks after Howe reiterated 'we're not here to be popular - we're here to compete'.
It was not the first time Newcastle have left the field to jeers this season - it all started at Anfield when the black-and-whites ruffled a few feathers against Liverpool, even in defeat, back in August - and Howe once said that his 'ideal' was to be booed off every week. Even if he was a little bemused by why it had happened again.
"I've got no idea," he smiled after the game. "I was hoping you could tell me!"
Opposite number Patrick Vieira was certainly used to similar treatment during his time as a player at Arsenal and the Crystal Palace boss said Newcastle 'have a chance' when it comes to fighting out at the top. However, to prove that, these are the games Newcastle will have to find a way to win in the months and years to come, which is no easy task. Palace were without a win in 2023, but the Eagles took a point off rampant Manchester United at Selhurst Park on Wednesday night and Vieira's side had already frustrated this Newcastle outfit in the recent past.
In fact, Palace, remarkably, prevented Newcastle from scoring over the course of 90 minutes in both of the teams' previous meetings at St James' Park in the Premier League and Carabao Cup. Newcastle were dominant in both games - averaging 18 shots, nine corners and 59% possession - but the visitors were going to have to take their chances in the capital.
Although Newcastle had a first League Cup semi-final in 47 years to come on Tuesday night, Howe named his strongest available XI as he picked an unchanged side from the team that defeated Fulham six days previously. Howe was able to do so after Bruno Guimaraes made a remarkable recovery from the ankle injury he suffered last week and the playmaker was quickly involved.
Indeed, there were just six minutes on the clock when Joe Willock played a clever one-two with Bruno, which sent the former racing down the left. Willock's teasing cross was met by Miguel Almiron on the volley, but the forward fired wide.
It was a signal of intent in the opening stages but, after Joelinton and Dan Burn's subsequent efforts were easily dealt with, the visitors did not seriously test Guaita until the 36th minute. Trippier's corner caused havoc inside the area and Joel Ward's headed clearance inadvertently teed up Joelinton, whose deflected shot was kept out by Guaita.
Newcastle continued to lack that cutting edge after the break - Wilson had a free header easily claimed by Guaita in the 53rd minute - and Palace very nearly made Howe's side pay for those missed chances. There were 73 minutes on the clock when Sven Botman and Dan Burn failed to deal with Jordan Ayew's clever scooped pass. The ball eventually fell to Mateta on the volley and just as it looked like the net might be about to bulge, Pope produced a stunning save to tip the ball over the bar.
It was a stop that ultimately earned Newcastle a point, but the Magpies still had chances to win the game late on. Howe threw on Alexander Isak and Allan Saint-Maximin in search of a winner and the pair both could have sealed all three points. However, Isak saw his header easily saved by Guaita before Saint-Maximin later skied his effort over the bar at the death. It was the story of Newcastle's night.
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