Eddie Howe set for painful Newcastle inquest after 'desperate' West Ham admission

EDDIE Howe is prepared for a painful inquest into Newcastle's frustrating home defeat to West Ham United - admitting the Magpies will "rue" the manner of Monday night's missed opportunity.

Howe liked a lot of what he saw from his side in the opening hour at St James' Park, but felt United completely lost their way after West Ham's second goal and got "desperate" in their search to get something from the game.

Newcastle created a string of openings but paid the price for a lack of cutting edge. And they conceded two poor goals at the other end, with the unmarked Tomas Soucek heading West Ham into an early lead and Aaron Wan-Bassaka adding a second eight minutes into the second half.

Newcastle didn't manage a single shot on target after West Ham's second goal.

RECOMMENDED READING:

• Newcastle United set for anxious injury wait as Eddie Howe updates on key duo

• Newcastle player failed to take big West Ham chance & forwards flopped on bad night

Howe said: "The goals changed the game. The first goal, especially so early, made it difficult for us, but I thought we responded really well and we were the dominant team going in at half-time.

"The game could have been very different if we'd taken one of those chances. Then they score again in the second half and we didn't respond well to that goal, we lost a bit of confidence and became a big ragged in the end.

"I was pretty pleased with the first 60 minutes, albeit we're losing the game 2-0. There was a lot of good play from us, we did open them up and had chances to score. Unfortunately goals will always change the perception.

"The last half an hour I didn't like us at all and we became a bit too desperate to score and made some bad decisions with the ball. It's certainly a game we'll rue when we watch it back."

Howe was particularly frustrated by the two goals his side conceded.

He said: "For both goals we'll look back and know we made individual mistakes. We can't give a player of Soucek's aerial ability that space in the box. That's disappointing from our perspective, having started so well. The second goal, too easy. Very uncharacteristic from us because we've defended well in recent weeks."