Newcastle United hitman Dwight Gayle has staked a late claim for Miss of the Season.
Gayle spurned an unbelievable chance to equalise for the Magpies in last night’s 2-0 FA Cup defeat by Manchester City at St James’s Park, blazing over the bar with the goal at his mercy from a matter of yards out.
Moments later, Raheem Sterling scored a second to effectively kill off Newcastle’s hopes of reaching the semi-final of the competition.
Gayle had only been on the field a matter of minutes after replacing Andy Carroll as the focal point in United’s attack.
And Martin Keown has criticised the marksman – a £10 million signing in 2016 – for missing the ‘glorious opportunity’.
“Dear oh dear. Glorious opportunity. You think it’s just a tap in, surely! Dear oh dear,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“For all the possession City have had it was a glorious chance for Newcastle. When you come off the bench you have to be ready for those opportunities to come.”
If there was one fanbase more frustrated by the miss than Newcastle’s, it was the Arsenal supporters.
That’s because the Gunners were scheduled to face the winner of that tie in the last-four stage, and a Gayle equaliser might have just led to a big upset by Steve Bruce’s side.
And obviously Arsenal would rather face Newcastle than City, who smashed them 3-0 a couple of weeks ago.
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