Howe praises Newcastle 'heart' - but it only takes them so far

St James' Park was on its feet.

Newcastle United had just suffered a 2-1 defeat against Barcelona in their Champions League opener, but it did not necessarily feel like it.

"We love Newcastle, we do!" the hoarse home support roared at full-time before they applauded their side off the field.

There was certainly no faulting Newcastle's effort in this loss against Barcelona - right up until the last breath.

A double from Marcus Rashford had put Barcelona in command, but Newcastle rallied and forward Anthony Gordon pulled a goal back in the 90th minute.

However, Eddie Howe's team were still left to ponder what might have been.

"A lot of commitment, a lot of heart from the players," the Newcastle head coach said. "I thought it was a good performance without being a great one and, to beat Barcelona, it needs to be a great one.

"We had the chances. Two big moments in the first half that we didn't take and, ultimately, when you concede the first goal, the game swings on that moment."

It was set up to be one of those "magical" nights as Howe termed it.

"Back in black and white," the AC/DC-themed banner screamed in the East Stand before the game. It was accompanied by a huge tifo of Monty the Magpie, the club's mascot, standing in between two amps.

Newcastle were back in the Champions League – and they were not about to quietly take their seat at Europe's top table as they faced Barcelona, the five-time winners.

Among those watching on was Tino Asprilla, who scored a hat-trick in Newcastle's 3-2 win against Barcelona in 1997, and Sir Bobby Robson's son, Mark, who "wished Dad was alive to be there" and see two of the clubs he managed meet.

Their attendance, and link to a previous era, served as a reminder of just what is possible on these nights where the stadium shakes and atmosphere tends to be at its febrile best.

The current crop needed no reminding of that, of course, after blowing Paris St-Germain away at St James' a couple of years ago.

Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon also started that night. No wonder, then, that Burn called on those around him to "make this PSG 2.0".

However, there would be a different outcome this time.

Unlike that 4-1 victory, this was a night when Newcastle did not take their chances as record signing Nick Woltemade watched from the bench for over an hour.

Woltemade had scored what proved to be decisive goal in the 1-0 win against Wolves at the weekend before coming off with cramp on his debut.

So, with striker Yoane Wissa sidelined with a knee injury, Gordon got the nod to lead the line.

And Howe refused to dwell on his decision not to start the towering Woltemade on Thursday night.

"I can't live in that world," he said. "I have to make decisions for the benefit of the players sometimes.

"It was a really difficult one for Nick. Any player would want to start the game, but I have got to try and manage him into the team and try and make sure he stays fit. That was always at the heart of this decision."

Howe, as a result, recalled Gordon, who is currently serving a three-match domestic ban.

The rapid Anthony Elanga also came into the side in place of Jacob Murphy, who is nursing an Achilles issue, in a bid to try and exploit the space behind Barcelona's high line.

Elanga and Gordon very nearly linked up in the opening stages.

However, Gordon could not connect with Elanga's pullback before Harvey Barnes saw a curling effort comfortably saved by goalkeeper Joan Garcia just a few minutes later.

Barnes then had a huge opportunity to open the scoring midway through the first half after the lively Elanga slid the ball across to the back post but the forward could only fire straight at Garcia.

It brought back memories of the opening weeks of the season, when Newcastle fired blanks against Aston Villa and Leeds United.

No wonder Howe had his hands on his head on the touchline at one point.

In a game like this, Newcastle had to be ruthless in front of goal - just as they were in a 4-1 win against PSG a couple of a years ago.

To prosper in this competition, they are going to have to be clinical.

Starting with the trip to Brussels to face Union Saint-Gilloise next month.

"There was no lacking in terms of heart and courage," Howe said. "We can be critical of a couple of things we could have done better but, ultimately, we will analyse it, try and improve and try and grow from this experience."