The officials let Newcastle United down at Stamford Bridge last week but not even VAR could rescue the Magpies' against Everton after Alex Iwobi struck a late winner in the Toffees' 1-0 victory at Goodison Park.
Newcastle were given a gift in the 83rd minute after Allan was controversially sent off for a challenge on Allan Saint-Maximin and even Frank Lampard, himself, admitted that he was thinking 'I'll take a draw' at that point, Yet going down to 10 men ended up galvanising Everton whereas Newcastle failed to take advantage.
Whatever about going in search of a winner, Newcastle simply could not lose the game from that position. However, Newcastle did not have control of the match, even with an extra man on the field, and Everton made the visitors pay after a whopping 14 minutes of stoppage time were added on after a protestor held up the game earlier that night.
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There were 99 minutes on the clock when Seamus Coleman dispossessed substitute Allan Saint-Maximin with a strong tackle in the middle of the park and slipped the ball to Iwobi. The winger took Dan Burn out of the game with a clever turn before playing a one-two with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and calmly drilling the ball into the net to send Goodison into raptures.
There was still time left, of course, but a late equaliser was never on the cards. While this has been a gruelling schedule, physically and mentally, for Newcastle, following three away games in the space of the week, Howe admitted the 1-0 defeat 'hurt'.
This had been an opportunity for Newcastle to hunt those sides above them in the table, after all, and beating Everton would have sent the Magpies up to 12th and also established a 12-point lead over the drop zone. However, this defeat was a reminder that Newcastle are still very much in a relegation fight until safety is mathematically secured.
What made the loss all the more frustrating was that Newcastle had 61% possession, seven corners and 17 efforts on goal. Yet, aside from one Joe Willock shot late on, the Magpies did not seriously test stand-in goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
After frustrating Everton in the first half, the match was there to be won after the break but Newcastle flagged as the game went on and started to lose some key individual battles. Matt Targett went as far as to say it was 'the first time' that he felt 'disappointed' during a half since he joined the club.
Players and staff will have time to stew on that half during the international break. Newcastle do not play again until April 3 and, such have been the high standards Howe's side have set in recent weeks, it is bound to be a quiet flight to Dubai on Friday as the Magpies jet out to the Middle East for some warm-weather training. Rather than giving his players some free time to recharge at home during the first week of the break, Howe instead feels this will be a valuable period of work and team bonding at state of the art facilities. This change of scene may yet be what the squad need to go and finish the campaign strongly.
You can be sure that Howe has already watched the game back and the Newcastle head coach will be thinking ahead to the next fixture, against Spurs, and putting this defeat right after Everton showed the fight and spirit the Toffees have lacked of late. This was a brittle Everton side, after all, who were only previously out of the relegation zone on goal difference. The Toffees had only won two league games under two different managers since October. Frank Lampard's side had accumulated just 22 points, which was the club's lowest points return ever at this stage in a top-flight season. The stench of relegation was in the air at Goodison ahead of kick-off as Everton faced the very real prospect of dropping out of the top-flight for the first time since 1951.
However, if Everton were going to show any signs of life, the Toffees were going to do it against Newcastle. It may only be March, but this was one of Lampard's side's final games against a side in the bottom half.
Jacob Murphy vowed Newcastle were going to be 'so up for it', particularly given the manner of the defeat at Chelsea 'added a lot of fuel to the fire' after the winger was denied a blatant penalty. How Newcastle responded to that first loss since before Christmas, which ended the Magpies' nine-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, was going to be telling as they faced a side below them in the table for the first time since the opening day.
You only have to read Murphy's comments to realise that Newcastle have become a nastier outfit to play against under Howe in recent months and those qualities off the ball were going to be required on Thursday night. Howe knew his side needed to frustrate Everton in the opening stages - the visitors even turned the hosts around after winning the toss ahead of kick-off - and quickly quieten the crowd in what pundit Jamie Carragher billed the Toffees' 'biggest game in 20 years'.
"I'm sure it'll be a very big occasion," Howe said ahead of the game. "We have to be fully prepared for what will be a really good atmosphere.
"I think there will be a lot of emotion in the game. We'll need to handle that ourselves and control our own start to the game and try and impose ourselves as we have in this spell of away games.
"I've been really impressed with how we've conducted ourselves and how we've managed certain elements of all the games we've had in recent weeks. It's going to be a severe test because Everton have got a really good squad of players. I really admire Frank and the work he's doing so we know we're going to have to be at our best."
This was Newcastle's third match in the space of a week so Howe, unsurprisingly, made four changes from the side that was unfortunate to lose at Chelsea last time out as the Magpies' boss switched back to a 4-3-3.
Although the game came too soon for the ill Jonjo Shelvey, Joe Willock was fit to start after recovering from his own bout of sickness while Joelinton also came back into the starting line-up after shaking off a groin issue. Elsewhere, Emil Krafth replaced Javier Manquillo while Ryan Fraser returned in place of Jacob Murphy. With club captain Jamaal Lascelles dropping out, Fabian Schar wore the armband, which, perhaps, sums up his remarkable turnaround under Howe.
This was the sort of night where Schar's composure was going to be needed and Newcastle quickly needed to quell a lively start from Everton as Ben Godfrey gave the home support some early encouragement after getting his head on Demarai Gray's corner on four minutes, but Martin Dubravka dealt with it comfortably. Dubravka was in no rush to take the resulting kick-out and, whenever Newcastle had a throw in or a goal kick in the opening stages, the Magpies took their time in a bid to take the sting out of the game much to the annoyance of Evertonians.
Newcastle soon settled in possession, having 67% of the ball at one point, as the influential Bruno Guimaraes demanded the ball and calmly dictated the tempo from the middle of the park. It was Bruno who switched play with 11 minutes on the clock to pick out Ryan Fraser on the left and Chris Wood rose highest to get on the end of the winger's cross, but Asmir Begovic dealt with his header.
The pair linked up once again in the 27th minute when Fraser's corner found Wood but, this time, the New Zealand international's header went over the crossbar. That proved to be the final chance of note of a scrappy, full-blooded first half.
The second half began in similar fashion but the game was halted for eight minutes after a protestor with 'Just Stop Oil' emblazoned across his red t-shirt got onto the pitch from the stands and tied himself to one of the posts. A steward had to go and fetch some bolt cutters to cut the cable tie around the pitch invader's neck before he was led away.
The players tried to keep warm by passing a ball between them and the lengthy break in play did little to help with the rhythm of this stop-start game. Krafth tested Begovic on the volley from 25 yards in the 65th minute and good work from Miguel Almiron down the right almost led to an opening but Chris Wood was flagged for offside just a few minutes later.
This contest was crying out for a moment of magic. Allan Saint-Maximin was soon summoned by Eddie Howe and the mercurial Frenchman replaced Almiron in the 70th minute.
It was Everton, however, who looked like they needed the victory more and, roared on by the home support, the Toffees pushed for an opener. Dubravka made a fine stop to keep out Anthony Gordon's effort from just outside the area in the 78th minute but the hosts' momentum appeared to be halted after Allan was sent off.
Frank Lampard called Saint-Maximin 'unplayable' following the reverse fixture back in February and the substitute quickly made an impact after drawing a heavy challenge from Allan in the 83rd minute. Allan was ultimately sent off for serious foul play after referee Craig Pawson consulted his pitchside monitor.
With an extra man on the pitch, the pendulum looked to swing back in Newcastle's favour as a whopping 14 minutes of stoppage time were added on, but it was Iwobi who struck late on to leave Goodison rocking.
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