‘He practised that goal the day before’ – Howe opens up on William Osula’s stunner against Man United

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has revealed that match-winner William Osula stayed behind after training to practise additional finishing drills, just a day before his dramatic stoppage-time goal secured a 2-1 victory over Manchester United in a pulsating Premier League encounter at St. James’ Park.

Osula’s late intervention capped a chaotic evening and halted the unbeaten start of United manager Michael Carrick.

The 22-year-old Danish forward of Nigerian descent produced a moment of individual brilliance deep into stoppage time, racing onto the ball with blistering pace before calmly finishing to hand the Magpies a vital three points.

After the match, Howe disclosed that the decisive moment was no coincidence. The striker had deliberately asked for additional finishing practice following the team’s previous training session, replicating the same scenario that ultimately delivered victory.

“There was a moment where I thought he was going to run out of grass and it’s going to go out of play. I think he does really well to keep it in… Will asked after training yesterday for 10 more balls. He wanted 10 more finishes and a carbon copy of the goal he scored today. He scored eight out of 10. That’s all credit to the player because he wanted it, he wanted to do more before he went in. I’m a great believer in ‘do the work, you get the reward’. Delighted for him personally.”

The contest itself unfolded in dramatic fashion. Newcastle had taken the lead shortly before halftime through Anthony Gordon, who converted from the penalty spot after a chaotic sequence that saw Jacob Ramsey dismissed for a second bookable offence following an apparent dive. Despite being reduced to ten men, the hosts initially held firm before United responded.

Brazilian midfielder Casemiro brought the visitors level soon after the interval, appearing to shift the momentum in favour of Carrick’s side. Yet Newcastle refused to retreat, displaying resilience and determination despite their numerical disadvantage.

For Howe, the result represented more than just three points. The Magpies entered the match on the back of three consecutive home defeats and desperately needed a statement performance to regain momentum.

“A massive win for us. I think we needed it. We know we needed it. It’s been a tough run for us in the Premier League. I think some of our performances haven’t been too bad in recent games, but we’ve found a way to lose games when maybe we shouldn’t have done. Today we’ve started the game really well and then we get a red card. There would have been an easy feeling for the lads to adopt of feeling sorry for ourselves, here we go again. That’s the biggest compliment I can give the lads. They really stood up that second half and they’ve all given more, they’ve all believed we can win the game. A brilliant end to the game.”

The victory provides Newcastle with renewed belief as they prepare to temporarily shift focus away from league action. Howe’s side will next face Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round before returning to European competition against FC Barcelona in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie.