As the final whistle blew at St James’ Park and Nottingham Forest’s players collapsed to the turf in despair, Eddie Howe looked simply bemused and confused. Shortly afterwards the Newcastle manager said that, even though his team had won 4-3, he felt as if they had lost one of the most extraordinary Premier League games of the season.
Torn between exasperation and relief, Howe did not initially know quite how to react as his side clung on to beat Nuno Espírito Santo’s side in a match the home team had led 4-1 at one stage. It left Newcastle fifth and only three points behind Forest in third after a chaotic afternoon that could exert a significant bearing on Champions League qualification at the end of the season.
