RAFAEL BENITEZ admits Newcastle United paid a high price for two costly second-half misses as they threw away two points in a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

Despite leading by two goals with just ten minutes left, the Magpies conceded late goals to Adam Smith and Dan Gosling as Bournemouth staged a grandstand finish.

Prior to the Cherries’ opening goal though, Newcastle wasted two glorious opportunities to go three goals ahead, with Ayoze Perez scooping the ball over the bar from close to the six-yard box and Jonjo Shelvey firing wide when it looked easier to score.

Having spurned the two opportunities, Newcastle found themselves in a state of panic after Smith halved their lead, and Gosling was left unmarked as he fired home in the 89th minute.

Benitez said: “We missed a chance, we conceded a goal, and then we lost the control we’d had for 70 minutes. It’s important for us to learn quickly that in these situations, we have to manage things in a better way.

“It should have been a great game, with three points, and that should have been it. But it’s something that can happen when you make mistakes, especially in the Premier League. We had a couple of chances to score the third goal, but then we made two mistakes and we conceded two goals. In the end, they were pushing with corners and crosses and it was very difficult for us.

“Everybody is disappointed, especially him (Shelvey) because he knows it was a good chance. It’s something that can happen, and the important thing is to make sure that the team remains as strong as it was in the first half.

“We had control for most of the second half, and the good thing is that we continued to create chances. We did a lot of things right, but we didn’t win the game.”

Benitez’s substitutions didn’t really help things, with the introduction of Isaac Hayden and Javier Manquillo for Dwight Gayle and Matt Ritchie inviting Newcastle to drop deep and defend on the edge of their own penalty area.

Instead of bringing on Hayden for Gayle, Benitez could have introduced Joselu, enabling the Magpies to hold up the ball in attack more effectively.

However, the Newcastle boss is adamant he made the right calls, and instead feels his players’ inadequate game management was the cause of their downfall.

He said: “Dwight was complaining about a little bit of tightness in his hamstrings, so we needed to make a substitution. The problem is that they were pushing and coming from the wide areas and making crosses.

“Ayoze (Perez) was the striker, and we were trying to make sure that we had more control, but we were giving the ball away and they were pushing. Sometimes, you have to give credit to the other team.

“I don’t think that we switched off, it was just a lack of concentration in a couple of situations where we could have done better. It is not easy to defend when they are attacking and attacking though, and it is hard to do everything perfect.

“We did that for 70 minutes, but with both goals, it was much too easy for them to score. They were able to pass for the first goal, and for the second one they were free in the box, so it is something we have to manage much better.”