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Krul Saves His Best Til Last
Written by Newcastle Utd
Tim Krul spoke to nufc.co.uk about his crucial second-half saves against Brugge on Thursday night
By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Club Reporter
Tim Krul believes his point-saving stops were redemption for the poor start he and his Newcastle United teammates made to Thursday's Europa League tie at Club Brugge.
The Magpies fought back from two goals down to salvage a draw at the Jan Breydel Stadium, with Vurnon Anita and Shola Ameobi both netting as half-time approached.
Krul told nufc.co.uk after the final whistle that United were not good enough in the opening stages and believed he could have done better to keep out Jesper Jorgensen
But the Dutch international made amends in the second half with a number of top class saves to deny Carlos Bacca, Mohamed Tchite and Vadis Odjidja giving the Belgians all three points.
"I needed to make those saves because to concede two easy goals like that wasn't nice," he explained.
"The first one was just a long ball going over the top, and the second was a shot from outside the box which maybe I should have done better with.
"We put things right. We didn't start well and made two mistakes for the goals but to come back from 2-0 down, away from home, is a good result.
"It was a really important point. It keeps Brugge away from us in the table and I even thought maybe we could have snuck all three points.
"We had a few big chances and they did too, so it must have been a great game to watch for the neutral.
"It was an incredible comeback which put us on the front foot going into the second half, and that's why I thought we could have got a winner.
"We had chances and it is a difficult one to assess because we could have won it but also we could have lost. In the end we had to be happy with a point."
Newcastle currently top Group D with eight points and victory over Maritimo later this month will guarantee their passage to the knockout stage of the competition.
So, Krul insists there is only one way the Magpies will approach the upcoming tie at St. James' Park.
"Quite simply, we want to win," said the stopper.
"We've got Maritimo at home next up and we will go into it with a lot of confidence, believing we can win it."