Football
ESPN staff 9y

Alan Pardew says Newcastle should have had early penalty vs. Man United

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew said Friday's defeat to Manchester United could have turned out differently had the Magpies been awarded in the first half.

Juan Mata appeared to clip Yoan Gouffran's heels, but referee Michael Jones refused to award the away side a spot-kick.

"The referee has got a bad call very wrong," the Newcastle manager said.

"I think that was a penalty. I think Mata's run across the back of a player who is going to head the ball across goal. That's a goal scoring opportunity. It was clumsy and that was a penalty."

Daryl Janmaat and Ayoze Perez had decent chances for Newcastle in the first half, but they could not take the lead and United made them pay once they had found their form.

The Magpies only found the net in the 87th minute when Papiss Cisse scored a penalty following Phil Jones' foul on Jack Colback.

Pardew, who has overseen four straight defeats, admitted Newcastle were not good enough to stop Rooney, Van Persie, Mata and Falcao, who looked dangerous throughout.

"We need to defend better than we did today. Today we was a little bit loose," Pardew said.

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