Steve Bruce reflects on a crazy finish which saw his side clinch a point at Everton

It was a comeback that defied the odds last night at Goodison Park, and Newcastle's Head Coach Steve Bruce seemed as speechless as anybody.

Steve Bruce reflects on a crazy finish which saw his side clinch a point at Everton
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 21: Steve Bruce, Manager of Newcastle United reacts as Carlo Ancelotti, Manager of Everton looks on during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Newcastle United at Goodison Park on January 21, 2020 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
alexstorey39
By Alex Storey

With the game floating towards a dull and forgettable defeat for Newcastle United, their evident never-say-die attitude came to the front once again.

The unlikely hero was substitute Florian Lejeune, who only joined the action a matter of minutes before the late drama.

The fact that Steve Bruce brought on three defenders at losing stages of the night shows that this side still requires some attacking reinforcements - whether or not they come in or not is another question.

But as it has been throughout this season, the all-important stoppage-time goals came from defenders, and Lejeune's first-ever for the club,

Reliance shines through again

Bruce said: "With the problems, we've had over the last few weeks and then Joe picked up an injury after 50 minutes and we didn't have anybody to change within terms of strikers.

"So we've asked people to play out of position, show a bit of spirit and that hard work and that desire to help each other.

"Our best spell in the game was the last ten minutes and arguably we looked better with people playing out of position because they were fresh (the substitutes) and tonight, unfortunately, the team wasn't.

"Using the same people who have been out for a while like Matt Ritchie and Jamaal meant it was a big big struggle for us but their effort, resilience and determination is there for everybody to see."

Shelvey and Saint-Maximin not risked

Given the energy that was ultimately drained from his United players in Saturday's late win over Chelsea, Bruce admitted he opted on the side of caution for some players.

"It was always going to be tough to ask the same people to go and run the distances and cover that they did on Saturday - some of them hadn't recovered like Jonjo in particular and Saint-Maximin hadn't recovered at all.

"We had Jonjo on the bench but I was never going to risk him and we've got one or two as we speak that have picked up another couple by the looks of it."

Delight for Lejeune

Since his summer move in 2017, the Frenchman has not managed a single goal for Newcastle despite coming close on a few occasions.

After waiting two-and-a-half years to get his first, he then had to wait just a minute to notch his second and earn the Magpies a point. 

"Do it twice for Flo was fantastic, it was great for him.

"He's been out for a long long time and to get a couple of goals will do him the world of good," Bruce said.