Andoni Iraola's Defiant Response After Newcastle Draw

Andoni Iraola walked off at full-time knowing his team had survived a storm and somehow staggered out with something to show for it.

His side trailed twice at Newcastle, undone first by Anthony Elanga and then Joe Willock, yet they clawed their way back through Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai to snatch a draw in a wild opening fixture. It was not the result he had come for, but the manner of the finish changed the mood.

"It's a strange feeling. Not the result we wanted but it's true, the way we scored the goal in the end, it tastes better. Still, we would have definitely preferred the win," he told BBC, the relief of a late comeback cutting through the frustration. Going 2-1 down away from home on the first day and refusing to fold gave him something solid to cling to.

The evening had started in the worst possible way. Inside five minutes, they were behind.

"We started the game the worst way we knew. Newcastle away, first game of the season, the atmosphere, they have very fast players and we concede the goal," Iraola admitted. The hosts struck early, fed by the noise and the pace in their front line, and the visitors were instantly chasing shadows and the scoreboard.

"They punished us and we had to go against the result. But we didn't give up in any moment." That refusal to accept defeat became the thread running through the second half.

Once the first blow landed, Iraola knew the match had to open up. No slow, sterile chase. No waiting for chances to appear.

"Once you concede the first goal, you need the game to go fast. You need things to happen when you're losing," he said. After the break, his players finally imposed themselves. "We could control the game in the second half. We had better possession around their box. When we scored, it looked like we were the team going to turn the game but then they scored again."

That swing – belief rising with the equaliser, then punched back down by Willock – could have broken them. Instead, the bench dragged them back into it.

The intensity of the contest drained legs and forced Iraola into early changes. Jeremy Jacquet was one of those sacrificed to the demands of the game rather than form.

"Jeremy hasn't done a proper pre-season, so it was kind of expected that he didn't finish the game," the manager explained. The replacements were not just there to see it out; they were sent on to change the tempo. "All the substitutes gave us energy. We need it because it's difficult to last the full 90 minutes with the same players the way we want to play. Players coming off the bench can affect the game."

Victor Munoz did exactly that. Thrown on into a frantic finish, he drove at tired legs and won the late penalty that salvaged the point. Iraola felt his impact could have been even greater.

"Victor almost had another penalty but the referee whistled before conceding it but it was even more clear. So he has really affected the game."

A chaotic opener, a shaky start, a defiant response, and a manager already leaning heavily on his bench. If this is how Iraola’s season begins, what happens when his team finally hits full throttle?