Howe: 'No excuse' for Newcastle's poor away run after Brentford defeat

Eddie Howe offered "no excuse" for his side's performance as Newcastle continued their poor start to the Premier League season with a 3-1 defeat at Brentford.

For the second time in a week, Howe's men took the lead away from home as Harvey Barnes was found by Nick Woltemade in the area, and he went past two challenges with a sharp bit of skill before slamming an effort home.

Despite Newcastle leading at the break, Brentford dominated after that and equalised with their third goal from a long throw this season, as Newcastle struggled to deal with Michael Kayode's delivery, resulting in Kevin Schade heading home.

It went from bad to worse for Howe as his side conceded a penalty and went down to 10 men following a Dan Burn challenge on Dango Ouattara, with Igor Thiago converting from the spot and adding another in stoppage time to leave Newcastle in 14th place, just two points above the relegation zone.

Indeed, Newcastle have lost three consecutive away games in the Premier League for the first time since January 2024 (five).

The Magpies have now lost more points from winning positions in the Premier League this season than any other side (nine).

Newcastle have also lost three of the last five league games in which they have gone 1-0 ahead (W2), as many as their previous 58 league games when scoring first beforehand, but Howe could not argue with the outcome. 

"There is no excuse for it," he told Sky Sports. "It is a disappointing performance and result, and we have to take that on the chin.

"We defended their throws and set-pieces well in the first half, and then it went from bad to worse with the penalty, and then we never really recovered."

The Magpies are without a win in their last nine away league matches, with Howe admitting that his side need to improve in a lot of areas, though still backed his players to find a way out of their current slump.

He said: "The analysis will take place and it is going to be a long international break.

"We need to find a solution to the away form and we need to stick together.

"We still feel the love and support of the supporters. This group has got the character to come back."

Brentford manager Keith Andrews believed a calm response at half-time was just what his side needed, as Brentford won a Premier League match in which they trailed at the break for the first time since November 2023.

He said; "It's always about the reactions and we were nice and calm at half-time and spoke about what we needed to fine-tune.

"Adding a level of calmness to the second half was key. Stopping transitions was a big part of it and we were worthy of the win."

The Irishman lauded the impact of Igor Thiago, with the Brazilian now on eight league goals this season after scoring a second half brace.

"He has been pretty good, hasn't he?," said Andrews.

"He played here last season against Newcastle and I remember he was a real focal point for us and we won.

"He is growing in stature and confidence and he has been pretty sensational this season."

Brentford have won four of their six league matches at home so far and acquired 13 points, the joint-most of any side in the Premier League.

They are up to 12th in the table and Andrews is pleased with the development of his side as they head into the third international break of the season.

He said: "We are making good progress. I have a relentless pursuit of progression. We are ticking over OK.

"We are hungry to achieve and we have a hungry group. That is really important."