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Pards Praises Positive Performance
Written by Newcastle Utd
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew gives his post-match reaction after the Magpies secured a 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford
By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Club Reporter
Alan Pardew believes Newcastle fully deserved their 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Saturday, praising his players for their "positive outlook" at Old Trafford.
A penalty from Demba Ba cancelled out Javier Hernandez's fortunate opener as the Magpies shocked the Premier League champions on their own turf.
Newcastle also had to contend with going down to ten men during the second half, as Jonas Gutierrez received his second booking for a challenge on Nani.
But Pardew's troops were resolute, gritty and dogged in defence, and the boss was delighted with what he saw.
"It was a fabulous game," he told nufcTV.
"I thought in the first half we had a really positive attitude, we stood on Man Utd toe to toe, and I thought we were the better side if I'm honest.
"Their goal rocked us a little bit and I thought the second half became so eventful, with so much going on.
"But at 1-0 down we forced a little bit of pressure. We had a few corners, a bit going on, and caught them napping a little bit. Then we got a penalty, so a little bit of pressure forced a mistake.
"Demba dispatched it brilliantly. You had to be here to understand the pressure he was under, so he was cool as a cucumber and it was a great finish.
"Then we lose Jonas and I felt sorry for him because I didn't think it warranted a sending off if I'm honest, but with the nature of the stadium and everything, it was going to happen.
"The last 10 or 12 minutes were just Geordie heroes out there. I am very, very proud of the players and they can be very proud of themselves."
That final spell of pressure saw Manchester United really test Newcastle's much-praised rearguard, with Hernandez seeing a header blocked on the line by Danny Simpson, as well as an injury-time strike ruled out for offside.
But Pardew always believed his players would cope with the inevitable Old Trafford onslaught.
"We worked hard, had a positive outlook and didn't just sit back. It was only really that last period when we had any pressure on us," he explained.
"They are a fabulous team, with fabulous players and they are going to create chances, which they did but we coped with it.
"Our goalie - the last port of call - he had to make three or four big saves today and I was comfortable that we would do the right things, and we did.
"They got a couple of headers in that I would have liked us to do better on, but we did brilliantly on the pull-backs, our positional play, our clearances and putting ourselves in the line of fire."
To watch the full interview with Alan Pardew, log on to nufcTV by clicking on the button below
