EDDIE HOWE has defended Paul Dummett despite the defender conceding the late penalty that enabled Everton to salvage a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park.

Dummett had only been on the pitch for six minutes when he tangled with Ashley Young after a cross was delivered from the left.

The Newcastle substitute placed his arm around Young’s neck, dragging his opponent to the floor, and while referee Tony Harrington initially failed to award a penalty, he changed his mind after being instructed to view the incident on his pitch-side monitor.

Howe conceded the decision to eventually award a spot-kick was probably the right one, but did not want to place too much blame on Dummett’s shoulders.

The Magpies head coach said: “When you look at it back – which I have very quickly – both players are grappling each other initially, but I think it's just the height of Paul's arm around Ashley's neck that swings it against us. Probably, if the boot's on the other foot, I'm wanting a pen for that.

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“It's always difficult when you come on late in games, especially if you're winning. Being a defender myself, they're always difficult moments because you want to keep your concentration, you want to help your team.

 “Paul has been first-class since I've been here. He's a really genuine, honest lad. It's one of those moments that's gone against us, but I can't fault the players, genuinely.

 “I thought we were really committed, gave a really good performance for the majority of the game.”

Howe revealed he brought on Dummett for Lewis Hall because the latter was suffering from “fatigue”, and the difference in quality between the Everton bench and Newcastle’s potential replacements was a key factor in determining the outcome of the game.

Howe said: ““When you look at the West Ham came from our perspective, we were able to make changes, bring on very, very good players and they made a difference for us in that game.

 “Tonight, I was well aware that we were going to be up against it in that respect. They were able to make changes. I felt I had to be very careful with the changes that I did make.

 “But of course, you're always talking on the back of the penalty and that moment going against us. As we stood at that moment in the game, I thought we looked defensively pretty strong and we'd maybe weathered the storm, but unfortunately we just couldn't get over the line.”