Newcastle United qualified for the Champions League on the final day despite losing against Everton after Manchester United defeated Aston Villa
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Newcastle United defender Matt Targett and, inset, Aston Villa players complain to referee Thomas Bramall
Newcastle United defender Matt Targett and, inset, Aston Villa players complain to referee Thomas Bramall
Matt Targett joked that the referee was 'spot on' after Aston Villa controversially had a 'goal' disallowed in the race for the final Champions League place. Newcastle United were 1-0 down against Everton on the last day of the season when Morgan Rogers thought he had given Aston Villa the lead at Old Trafford.
Rogers nudged the ball away from Altay Bayindir as the Manchester United goalkeeper attempted to gather before the Aston Villa star slotted home.
However, Thomas Bramall gave a foul against Rogers after the referee ruled that Bayindir had both of his hands on the ball.
Television replays showed otherwise, but VAR could not intervene because Bramall had blown his whistle before Rogers put the ball into the net.
Manchester United went on to win the game 2-0 and although Newcastle lost against Everton, the Magpies finished fifth because Eddie Howe's side had a superior goal difference to Aston Villa.
The furious Villains have since written to the PGMOL and captain John McGinn said 'if you were 1-0 up at that point and all you need is a point to get to the Champions League, it's costly'. However, Targett certainly had no complaints.
"We thought he was spot on," the former Aston Villa defender laughed in an interview on talkSPORT.
Targett, who was unceremoniously booed on his return to Villa Park last month, was the first to recognise that Newcastle had got 'lucky' but the 29-year-old stressed it had been an 'incredible season' after the black-and-whites also ended their long wait for silverware.
In fact, only champions Liverpool picked up more points than Newcastle in the final few months of the campaign and Alan Shearer was among those who felt that the table did not lie.
"Newcastle got lucky on the last day but there's nothing lucky when you have had 38 games and you finish where you deserve to finish," he told the Rest is Football. "It wasn't about Sunday. It was about the whole season.
"It's the greatest season in my lifetime with the trophy and finishing in the Champions League spots so it's been an amazing season for Newcastle. It really has."
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