Newcastle and Luton Town shared the spoils in a breathless eight-goal thriller at St James’ Park as the Magpies came back from two goals down in the second half in one of the matches of the season.
Sean Longstaff had given Newcastle the lead twice in the first, but the Hatters came back twice themselves, first through Gabriel Osho and then Ross Barkley.
Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo gave Luton a 4-2 lead with 30 minutes to go, but Kieran Trippier and Harvey Barnes scored in quick succession as both teams shared the points.
⚫️ 7' Newcastle 1-0 Luton
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 3, 2024
🟠 21' Newcastle 1-1 Luton
⚫️ 23' Newcastle 2-1 Luton
🟠 40' Newcastle 2-2 Luton
🟠 59' Newcastle 2-3 Luton
🟠 62' Newcastle 2-4 Luton
⚫️ 67' Newcastle 3-4 Luton
⚫️ 73' Newcastle 4-4 Luton
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How the match unfolded
Newcastle took advantage of an end-to-end start when Longstaff finished off a swift counter-attacking move after seven minutes.
Trippier played in a low cross from the right that the midfielder ran on to score with a first-time strike.
Luton equalised 13 minutes later as Osho headed past Martin Dubravka following a well-worked free-kick.
Newcastle retook the lead less than two minutes later, with another counter-attack. Anthony Gordon raced down the left and saw his shot saved by Thomas Kaminski, but the ball fell to Longstaff to get his second of the game.
Shortly after Gordon missed a great chance to double the Magpies’ lead, Luton were level through Barkley. Dubravka saved Alfie Doughty’s shot but the rebound fell to an unmarked Barkley to score in the 40th minute.
Luton were awarded a penalty early in the second half after a VAR check found that Dan Burn’s foul on Chiedozie Ogbene continued into the penalty area. Morris converted from the spot, sending Dubravka the wrong way to give Luton a 59th-minute lead.
Three minutes later Adebayo made it 4-2 as the visitors hit Newcastle on the counter.
Newcastle pulled a goal back in style in the 67th minute as Bruno Guimaraes picked out Trippier with a sublime pass with the outside of the foot, and the defender scored with a volley.
Barnes, who was making his first appearance since an injury in September, levelled the match in the 73rd minute as he beat Kaminski from outside the box.
Jacob Murphy had an incredible opportunity to score the winner for the home side with five minutes to go, but he missed the target from inside the six-yard box with his sliding attempt.
The point for Newcastle mean they drop to ninth with 33 points, and have concerns about Gordon, who was subbed off at half-time and then was seen on crutches after the match. The draw moves Luton up to 16th with 20 points.
Club reports
Newcastle report | Luton report
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
38 | +14 | 63 |
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
38 | +23 | 60 |
| 8 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
38 | -1 | 60 |
| 9 |
West Ham
WHU
|
38 | -14 | 52 |
| 10 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
38 | -1 | 49 |
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 |
Wolves
WOL
|
38 | -15 | 46 |
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
38 | -11 | 40 |
| 16 |
Brentford
BRE
|
38 | -9 | 39 |
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
38 | -18 | 32 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
38 | -33 | 26 |
| 19 |
Burnley
BUR
|
38 | -37 | 24 |
| 20 |
Sheffield Utd
SHU
|
38 | -69 | 16 |
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Key facts
Luton scored four goals in a top-flight away match for the first time since getting five against Oxford United in September 1987, while Newcastle conceded four goals in a top-flight home match against a promoted side for the first time since March 1976, against Manchester United (3-4).
Luton have scored 4+ goals in consecutive league games for the first time since October 2017, in League Two.
Kieran Trippier has nine assists, more than any other player in the Premier League this season. Indeed, almost half of his total assists in the competition have come in the last two seasons, for Newcastle (16 out of 34).
Longstaff scored his first-ever Premier League brace, netting as many goals against Luton today as in his previous 44 matches in the competition combined.