Crystal Palace suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat against Newcastle United at St James’ Park, where Eddie Howe’s team extended their unbeaten streak to eight matches.
Crystal Palace captain Joel Ward openly acknowledges that he and his teammates were clearly outplayed by Newcastle United at St James’ Park during their Saturday afternoon clash.
The Eagles were convincingly beaten 4-0 by Eddie Howe’s squad, with Jacob Murphy, Anthony Gordon, Sean Longstaff, and Callum Wilson all finding the back of the net.
Before the game, Palace had only conceded seven goals in eight matches and were just one point behind Newcastle in the league standings. However, they found themselves unable to compete with their hosts on the day.
Ward expressed, “I believe we are all aware that we can deliver a stronger performance and we must strive to do so. Today, we were clearly outperformed, but the crucial aspect is how we recover from this. In challenging times, it’s all about our response, and we need to make amends on Friday night when we face Tottenham.”
Palace fell behind just four minutes into the match when Murphy’s cross sailed over Sam Johnstone. Murphy then set up Gordon for the second goal, and a mistake from Marc Guehi allowed the Magpies to go 3-0 up. Callum Wilson added a fourth goal in the middle of the second half after receiving a pass from Murphy.
Ward acknowledged the challenging circumstances, saying, “Starting a match in a place like St James’ Park is never ideal. It’s always going to be a tough challenge. The fans rally behind their team, and Newcastle is a formidable side that can pose difficulties. Unfortunately, we didn’t handle the situation as we know we can.”
He continued, “We need to reflect on our performance and make sure we rectify our mistakes. We’ll be back on the training field on Monday, determined to regroup and regain our composure. Both individually and collectively, we recognize that we have room for improvement.”
Ward emphasized, “While we can consider external factors and various elements, we have a group of very resilient individuals. We are united as a team, and we’ve demonstrated our ability to compete against any opponent. Today was an exception, and we’ll take this as a learning experience, ensuring we deliver a better performance against Tottenham.”
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