SOCCER: Newcastle, down to 10 men, end Carrick's unbeaten run with Man Utd

NEWCASTLE, England – Manager Eddie Howe hailed a memorable night for Newcastle on Wednesday as his 10-man side ended Michael Carrick’s unbeaten streak as Manchester United interim manager.

William Osula came off the bench to score a stunning 90th-minute solo winner, securing a 2-1 Premier League victory for Newcastle at St James’ Park, despite being a man down for the entire second half.

“Probably with the sending off, it turned into a really famous victory for us,” Howe said. “Even though you have 10, you’ve got to try and give the opposition a problem. I thought we did that.”

The defeat left Manchester United nine points behind second-placed Manchester City, who drew 2-2 at home against struggling Nottingham Forest, and level on 51 points with Aston Villa. Newcastle are 12th, just one point behind fierce rivals Sunderland.

Hard to Tell Which Team Had 10

At times in the second half, it was difficult to tell which team was down to 10 men.

United, the third-placed side, arrived with firepower in the form of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, and Benjamin Sesko – players Newcastle had reportedly wanted last year – but the visitors lacked spark.

Newcastle, coming off three home league games without a win, found their rhythm in adversity.

“We’re not happy with the way we played the game tonight,” said Carrick, a lifelong Newcastle supporter who had gone seven games unbeaten since taking over at Old Trafford. “I don’t think it was the 10 men. We just didn’t play good enough tonight. We can’t make any excuses for that. They deserved to win tonight… it hurts because we don’t like losing, but we’ll be better for the next one.”

The match turned when Jacob Ramsey was sent off at 45+1 minutes after being judged to have dived, receiving a second yellow card. Despite the setback, Anthony Gordon won a penalty five minutes later after a clash with United captain Bruno Fernandes, putting Newcastle 1-0 up with his ninth successful spot kick of the season.

Before halftime, Fernandes delivered a set piece that found Casemiro, who headed in the equalizer at 45+9.

Newcastle had started the game brightly, with Kieran Trippier hitting the post in the third minute and creating several scoring chances in the first 20 minutes. United also came close, with Kobbie Mainoo seeing a shot saved by Aaron Ramsdale, before Mbeumo fired over the bar in the 44th.

Ramsdale, making his first league start of the year with Nick Pope on the bench, produced a series of world-class saves.

“With 10 men, well it may as well have been 13 men with the crowd tonight,” he said. “It’s been an excellent game for us.”

-Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Toby Davis/Reuters