EDDIE HOWE sought to play down the on-field fracas that ensued after the final whistle of Newcastle United 3-0 defeat at Everton this evening.

There were ugly scenes in the wake of the game at Goodison Park with a number of players from both sides having to be pulled apart close to the centre circle.

Joelinton and James Tarkowski were at the heart of the altercation, with Bruno Guimaraes and Jordan Pickford playing the role of chief peacemakers, but Howe did not feel the incident was a major issue.

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The Newcastle head coach said: “I saw the coming together of players, although I’ve got no idea what it was over.

“It was just emotions running high after a game – we were certainly disappointed with our performance. But there’s no problems I don’t think.”

Newcastle were still on level terms in the 79th minute, but they conceded three goals from that point onwards as they ran out of steam and paid the price for a string of individual errors, the main two of which were committed by Kieran Trippier.

Howe said: “The game was there for us to win in the second half. I thought it was an even first half, although I didn’t think we played particularly well.

“I felt there was a lot more to come from the team in that second half. I thought we played a lot better and had them penned in, but then we conceded that first half and that changed the momentum of the match. It was a frustrating evening for us – a missed opportunity.”