Another goal-laden afternoon at Gallowgate on Saturday left Newcastle unbeaten in four Premier League games, but needing to come from behind twice to secure a point - the second equaliser coming from the unlikely source of Matt Ritchie.

Making one enforced change to the side that scraped a victory at Nottingham Forest the previous Saturday, Harvey Barnes returned for his first start since September as Callum Wilson dropped out with yet another random injury; pectoral tendon damage.

With Alexander Isak not ready to return after his latest breakdown, that left United without one of their two recognised forwards for only the second time in the season. That the first was a rancorous 0-2 reverse at Bournemouth in November didn't really inspire confidence, but if nothing else we'd had a full week to prepare for this second meeting rather than midweek Champions League action.

Anthony Gordon was given the task of leading the attack; Barnes and Miggy Almiron completing a front three that periodically rotated - and by the end of the game had Jacob Murphy at the head.

Given the quantity of goals scored recently in games involving Newcastle, to reach the interval scoreless was mildly surprising. Gordon looked sprightly and headed Kieran Trippier's cross from the right just wide early on before coming agonisingly close to charging down Neto's clearance.  

At the other end the Cherries came even closer, Howe pin-up Dominic Solanke twice denied by Martin Dubravka amid scenes of mild peril as speedy attacks by the visitors left both Dan Burn and Sven Botman struggling to keep pace with their opponents. 

Bournemouth went ahead in farcical fashion six minutes after the restart; pressing the hosts and profiting from Dubravka's disastrous slip when trying to clear Botman's back pass; Solanke grabbing his third goal against us this season from similarly close range to the first pair. 

If this was an audition in front of his future fans, that gloves and short sleeve look isn't a good one, but his ever-present record of 24 starts this season is as enviable as his 14 top-flight goals.

Our recent habit of conceding but quickly atoning at the other end was to continue, albeit after a VAR check in excess of four minutes - enough time for a few folks to empty their bladders without missing anything, although countless others wandered round obliviously all afternoon.

The incident that required scrutiny came when Bruno Guimaraes was squeezed off the ball midway in the Bournemouth half, Trippier's free kick into the box prompting Adam Smith to take a conspicuous handful of Fabian Schar's shirt. 

Initially indicated to have been offside, Schar's protestations to the referee soon caused play to be halted as the review took place - changing images on the big screen indicating that VAR was checking for a foul, offside and then a foul again.

Referee Michael Salisbury was then called to the monitor in front of the East Stand for reruns of the incident before indicating a penalty kick. Post-match analysis confirmed that the offside call against Schar was nullified by the foul on him. 

With Isak and Wilson absent (along with previous penalty takers Joe Willock and Joelinton) Gordon stepped up to fire into the bottom right-hand corner of the net, just beyond goalkeeper Neto.

That brought a slumbering home crowd to life and one excellent run from Bruno almost forced an own goal via Marcos Senesi. Gordon then looked like claiming his second of the game when he strode into the box, only to fail in his attempt to take the ball around the diving Neto.

United were instantly punished when Bournemouth attacked down what's becoming a well-trodden path to the Leazes End goal from the right flank, Antoine Semenyo taking Solanke's pass and advancing before firing past Dubravka on 69 minutes.

Going behind in that fashion saw inevitably Tino Livramento arrive in place of Burn left back but chances to level once again were sparse; fellow substitute Jacob Murphy unable to latch on a forward pass when any sort of bodily contact looked enough to beat Neto.

The ridiculously long VAR inquest for the earlier spot kick saw an additional 10 minutes tagged on - Howe introducing debutant Joe White and Matt Ritchie at the start of that period. Quite what Lewis Hall made of that isn't known, but his lack of pitch time grows ever more mysterious.

An unlikely leveller followed after White drove upfield and the ball was eventually dropped into the area by Bruno for Ritchie to finish at the second attempt with his first goal since July 2020. 

This one replicated the circumstances of the added time leveller against his former club at the Vitality Stadium almost five years ago, but was from rather closer range than that 2019 howitzer.  

While the rest of his colleagues retreated quickly for the restart, a clearly overjoyed Ritchie destroyed the corner flag in the Strawberry Corner in trademark fashion.

However once play did resume, United were unable to complete the turnaround and claim victory - the visitors coming as close to taking all three points before the final whistle sounded. 

Eventful, entertaining and concerning in equal measure - Honestly? that's no bad thing given the beige austerity of previous seasons. Frustration at not being a bit higher up the table is infinitely preferable to the fear of dropping into the bottom three.   

Pint in hand, a semi-serious analysis of Howe's side as the 21st century equivalent of Kevin Keegan's entertainers works partially - although there's a damn sight more tracking back these days. The flawed genius of that side is revered; the hoped-for injection of pragmatism from successor Kenny Dalglish real and the regret that it all imploded ongoing. 

In some ways we've reverted to the consistent inconsistency of even earlier eras, when we were known primarily as a cup side with erratic league form. If a continuance of that takes us back to Wembley in 2024, crack on.   

Much of what unfolded during another eventful contest was known: an inevitable consequence of lacking Nick Pope and Joelinton, persisting with the lumbering Burn and and having no acceptable centre forward cover. The latter shortage saw Ben Parkinson blooded late in the loss at Bournemouth but today the teenage striker was playing - and scoring - against Liverpool U21s across the city. We're still managing to score goals in sizeable quantities, even if we cannot stop conceding.   

Flawed but interesting is an understatement but characterises our form thus far in 2024.  At various points all three outcomes looked feasible today - but whether that scenario will be repeated at Arsenal next Saturday is rather more uncertain. Anyone on for a repeat of 3-7 visit in 2012? 

At least Bruno avoided the booking that would have seen him suspended for the next two games and has now managed five games without censure after six successive yellow cards. Channeling energies more into football and less into histrionics is benefiting us, while Lewis Miley behind and beside him was a joy to watch today and visibly stronger when challenging opponents.   

Whether Fabian Schar joins him in North London remains to be seen though, after he was treated onfield after full time and in discomfort with what was later confirmed to be a wrist problem - a little different to our immediate long-distance diagnosis of Marcelino finger. Dull this isn't.

Biffa