Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa started on the bench for Newcastle United’s Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace.
The £119million striker duo didn’t feature until the closing stages at Selhurst Park with Will Osula handed only his second Premier League start of the season.
Osula scored the opener on the brink of half-time but the Magpies slipped to a 14th league defeat of the campaign after substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta struck twice inside the remaining quarter of an hour.
Woltemade was introduced four minutes after Mateta equalised before Wissa was brought on immediately after the Frenchman converted his 94th-minute penalty.
Eddie Howe’s spikey response to Woltemade & Wissa question
Woltemade has been used as a midfielder in recent months but came on for Osula as the central striker, while Wissa played alongside the German for less than a minute.
It’s now over two months since Wissa started a match for Newcastle. When asked about the decision to bench his expensive pair, Howe delivered a spikey response.
He said: “I don't pick the team based on transfer fees, I have to pick the team based on what I see. I thought Will Osula was training well, I think he deserved to start today, I thought he played well.
“I thought he was, again, a real positive coming out of the game, I thought he took his goal well. He's got the physical attributes, the determination to do really well. He's improving, I think, week in, week out, so I was delighted with his performance.”
25 points dropped for Newcastle United from winning positions
Without Woltemade or Wissa in the starting line-up, Howe also defended his tactical set-up, though he takes accountability for another match in which Newcastle took the lead but failed to win.
Howe’s side have now dropped a staggering 25 points from winning positions in the Premier League, leaving them 14th in the table with only six matches left to play.
“Always, yes, I always have to look at myself first,” Howe said. “I always say that I'm number one accountable.
“The tactical set-up was good, we were leading the game. For the away team, I thought we were in a good position, I thought we'd play some good football but we individually didn't do our jobs well enough in those moments in the second half.
“Mateta made a difference, his physicality, I don't think we dealt with him well enough, and the game got away from us in the latter stages.
“Still, we should have come away with a point, which I know isn't necessarily what we came here for. We came here to win but of course, I never shy away from taking the accountability and responsibility, I always do that.”
Next up for Newcastle is the visit of Howe’s former club AFC Bournemouth to St James’ Park on Sunday, a game they need to win in order to keep their European qualification hopes alive.
The Magpies are still only five points below seventh position but have Palace, Fulham, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford above them in the mix.
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