Newcastle’s Eddie Howe unsure on why Elliot Anderson goal disallowed for offside against Nottingham Forest

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe admitted he was unsure why Elliot Anderson’s goal was disallowed against Nottingham Forest on Friday tonight.

Anderson, 20, thought he had given Newcastle a second-half lead at the City Ground, only to see his goal ruled out for an offside against Sean Longstaff.

Longstaff, though, did not appear to touch the ball from an offside position in the build-up to Anderson’s goal — which would have been his first for Newcastle.

“The VAR goal is a good place to start, really,” Howe said. “I’m not sure what happened there, I’ve got no idea, so I need to sit down and see what happened and what the thought process was.

“I was surprised to see the referee go over to the screen and make that decision and that call. It was what it was, and I think the big thing from that is that the players responded really well.”

Referee Paul Tierney was advised to use the pitchside monitor to establish whether the goal should stand.

It appears Tierney ruled that Forest defender Felipe had not intentionally played the ball and thus Longstaff’s involvement in then challenging Moussa Niakhate was from an offside position. Following Felipe’s touch, Niakhate’s clearance deflected off of Longstaff and into the path of Alexander Isak, who crossed for Anderson to head home.

Asked whether he would seek clarification from the Premier League on the decision, Howe added: “Well I don’t know. If I can understand the rules clearly enough, then no I probably won’t. But it’s just a case of me understanding what happened.”

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“I don’t get that at all”

A closer look at Elliott Anderson’s disallowed goal pic.twitter.com/tpWOzHPAbB

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 17, 2023

Howe also gave a squad fitness update as Newcastle head into the international break, after Fabian Schar was deemed fit enough to start, Allan Saint-Maximin was taken off at half-time and Callum Wilson remained an unused substitute.

“Allan wasn’t quite right today, physically, I didn’t think,” Howe said. “He’s been carrying a tight hamstring. I don’t think it’s a pull, it’s just a little bit of tightness. For me, it was obvious during that first half that he probably wouldn’t be able to carry on.

“I didn’t want to expose Callum today, he hasn’t done a lot of training, so I decided to go with Elliot and he repaid me, he did really well. Hopefully, we’ll have Callum and Maxi fit and available after the international break.

“Fabian’s been carrying lots of different things in the last few weeks. He’s been carrying a foot problem and also had concussion, so I think it’s just a chance for him to rest his body and go again.”

Howe also spoke about Miguel Almiron, who will miss six weeks due to a thigh injury.

Newcastle had gone behind in the match through an Emmanuel Dennis goal in the 26th minute before Isak drew them level in first-half added time. The Swedish striker was then on hand to convert the game-winning penalty in stoppage time at the end of the second half.

Howe’s side will travel to Dubai for some warm-weather training during the international break, after which they face Manchester United on April 2.

(Photo: Getty Images)