BBC pundit says £12m Newcastle player will be wanting a word with Eddie Howe now

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Newcastle United were saved by an unlikely hero against Bournemouth on Saturday.

As the Magpies headed into 10 minutes of stoppage time, it looked like it was going to be another disappointing result at St James’ Park.

Eddie Howe’s side were 2-1 down to Bournemouth, and it looked like back-to-back defeats against the Cherries was inevitable.

Then, in the 92nd minute, Matt Ritchie cropped up.

The 34-year-old had been brought on for Miguel Almiron a minute earlier, and within moments of his arrival he was celebrating an equaliser.

Bruno Guimaraes’ cross resulted in Ritchie smashing in an equaliser from a yard out, which led to wild scenes inside St James’ Park as fans loudly chanted ‘Ritchie’s staying 10 more years‘. Then the corner flag was suddenly in danger, which has not been the case for a long time.

This was Ritchie’s first goal since July 15th 2020, and now pundit Nedum Onuoha thinks he will be asking Eddie Howe for more minutes.

What Matt Ritchie will be asking Eddie Howe after scoring

Following Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, Onuoha spoke about Ritchie on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily podcast.

“Matt Ritchie, the forgotten man at Newcastle scoring the equaliser against his former side Bournemouth a minute after coming on in added time,” he said.

“And I tell you what, he’s going to be knocking on that door saying more minutes gaffer please, more minutes!”

No way Ritchie will play much more this season for Newcastle

Ritchie’s cameo off the bench on Saturday was his 12th appearance of the season, and his first goal contribution.

The £12million man has played more than fans would have expected, but is massively respected behind the scenes on Tyneside. Anthony Gordon was full of praise for Ritchie after his goal, for example.

It was Ritchie’s first goal under Eddie Howe, with his last strike coming back when Steve Bruce was manager. And that goal wasn’t even in front of fans, as it was during the behind closed doors era!

It was an incredible moment for Ritchie to experience scoring a Premier League goal again in front of the Toon Army, but it is unlikely to result in more minutes.

While he is great behind the scenes, there is no way he is going to feature more regularly between now and the end of the campaign. At 34, he is not going to be the man to save our season, even if he did save us on Saturday.