Newcastle fought back from two goals down in a rollercoaster 4-4 draw against Luton Town, who stayed just outside the Premier League drop zone, at St James’ Park on Saturday.
Eddie Howe’s team looked set for a comfortable home win when Sean Longstaff put them ahead after seven minutes but Luton, who thrashed Brighton 4-0 on Tuesday, equalised twice to go in 2-2 at the break.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
Luton cancelled out Longstaff’s opener with a close-range Gabriel Osho header in the 21st minute.
Newcastle went back in front two minutes later through Longstaff again but Ross Barkley made it 2-2 with his first away Premier League goal in three years.
Luton then turned the match on its head in four minutes of the second half.
Matt McNulty/Getty Images
Carlton Morris fired the visitors 3-2 up in the 59th minute with a retaken penalty that was first awarded after a long VAR check and Elijah Adebayo made it 4-2 in the 62nd minute.
That was the signal for Eddie Howe’s men to move up a gear and Kieran Trippier pulled a goal back in the 67th before substitute Harvey Barnes equalised in the 73rd minute to deny Luton a league double over Newcastle this season. Trippier’s goal was his first since August, 2022.
Newcastle could have grabbed a winner in the 85th minute when Jacob Murphy fired over the bar.
The match hung in the balance to the end, with 10 minutes of time added on at the end of the second half and end-to-end play until the whistle.
“When you score four goals at home you should probably win the game, but when you go 4-2 down if someone offers you a point I think you’re going to take it,” Longstaff told Sky Sports.
“It’s probably been the story of our season. A little bit up and down, a little bit inconsistent but another point on the board and move on.”
Luton manager Rob Edwards said that he experienced a range of emotions during the contest.
“I just said to the lads I went from feeling sick to elation to…I experienced a lot during that 100-odd minutes,” Edwards said. “I’m obviously really proud of the players, we’ve just got to strap in for 16 more of those.
“I thought it was a really, really enjoyable game for all the supporters who were here. Once we were 4-2 up, I’m slightly disappointed we weren’t able to see it out but they got their third back fairly quickly,” Edwards added.
“When they got back to 4-4 maybe there were other teams that would then cave in and Newcastle would go on and win it. I’m really pleased with our reaction.”
Luton, who beat Newcastle 1-0 at Kenilworth Road in December, had slipped into the bottom three after Everton drew 2-2 at home with Tottenham but ended the day 16th and a point clear of the drop zone.
Newcastle dropped to ninth place, two points clear of Chelsea and two behind Manchester United.