Newcastle United have failed to take advantage of dropped points from sides around them in the hunt for Champions League football, after drawing 1-1 at Bournemouth this evening.
First-half goals from Marcos Senesi for the hosts and Miguel Almiron for the visitors meant the spoils were shared on the South Coast.
Eddie Howe's side remain fourth, two points clear of Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand, but they will be disappointed at their inability to win against a side fighting against relegation.
Bournemouth remain in the bottom three, but it is still a valuable point nonetheless against a side riding high near the top end of the table.
In an uneventful opening period of the game, Dominic Solanke had the first sighter, when his header left Nick Pope in two minds about whether to claim or parry, before pushing it behind the post.
With Newcastle struggling to get anywhere near the Bournemouth goal or retain possession, they fell behind midway through the first half, being undone by a set piece from the hosts.
Dango Ouattara's flick-on was met by an unmarked Senesi, who had the six-yard box to himself after spinning off Alexander Isak, and was able to claim a tap-in - his first goal for the club.
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Solanke then went close again as they continued to frustrate the visitors, but Pope was able to deal with this effort more easily.
Newcastle were well off it in the first 45 minutes but Howe's side were fortunate to find a late equaliser in stoppage time before the break.
As Sean Longstaff broke forward from midfield, he latched onto Allan Saint-Maximin's ball and forced Neto into a brilliant diving save, but unfortunately for the Cherries, the rebound fell right to the feet of Almiron, who netted his first goal since Boxing Day.
The second half followed a largely similar pattern as both sides struggled to assert their dominance on proceedings with very few chances of note at either end.
Anthony Gordon came on late in the first half to replace the injured Joe Willock and looked lively but was not capable of finding the killer ball at any given opportunity.
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Bournemouth were mostly restricted to chances from set pieces, many of which were wasted by new boy Hamed Junior Traore.
However, with injury time beckoning, a mix-up at the back for Newcastle, which saw Dan Burn lose possession, created the best opportunity of the half, with Antoine Semenyo's flick being stopped on the line by a backtracking Kieran Trippier.
Despite some late pressure of their own from corners, Newcastle were unable to grab the winner themselves as the game ended level at the Vitality Stadium.
Newcastle welcome Liverpool to St James' Park for what promises to be an enthralling encounter next Saturday in their next league outing.
Bournemouth and Gary O'Neil will now turn their attentions to a clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux in a week's time, as they continue their fight against relegation.
Andrew Delaney
