MANAGER Ivan Juric praised the "incredible" support from Saints fans after they fell to a 3-1 defeat against Newcastle on Saturday.

Jan Bednarek nodded in his second goal in consecutive games to hand Southampton the lead at St Mary's before a quickfire Alexander Isak double turned the game on its head.

The Swedish international was tripped in the box by Joe Aribo, winning a controversial penalty that he later dispatched and added a second with a low finish past Alex McCarthy.

Southampton were without first-choice goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale after the five-time England international suffered an injury earlier this week.

Juric did not feel Newcastle deserved their penalty, which required a lengthy VAR check to be awarded, but Sando Tonali's second-half goal put the game beyond doubt.

Mateus Fernandes thought he had given the loyal fans something to cheer about late on but his goal was ruled out after another prolonged VAR decision.

"(They were) incredible," Juric said of the fans. "Like I said before, the guys have to appreciate that a lot. They fight really, really hard every game.

"I think we gave everything that we have and it was some crucial moment like a penalty (that turned the game around).

"That was during a really good moment. It's not easy to play against Newcastle, but it wasn't enough. The penalty was a crucial moment.  For me, it wasn't a penalty.

"We scored a goal and we moved the ball well and this moment I think changed the game a little bit. I saw it after the game and for me, it wasn't a penalty"