Soccer: Burley says justice was done

George Burley felt it would have been an 'injustice' if Newcastle had snatched maximum points in the dying seconds at St James' Park.

The Ipswich boss said he was fearing the worst when Alan Shearer stepped up for a last-gasp penalty during Saturday's 2-2 draw.

But the former England striker drilled his effort wide, leaving Burley to admit: "Of course, I expected him to score.

"If there's one player in the Premiership you'd pick to take a 90th-minute penalty it'd be Shearer.

"But it would've been an injustice if he'd scored because we deserved something from what was a cracking game.

"I don't even think it was a penalty. Acuna slipped but sometimes when you come to these big stadiums the crowd can influence decisions."

Two minutes before the dramatic flashpoint, Shearer restored parity for the Magpies to deny Ipswich an unlikely win.

"We were disappointed not to come away with three points, given that we were winning 2-1," added Burley.

"But we can take great heart from the fact we more than matched one of the best sides in the Premiership."

Marcus Bent was the two-goal hero for Ipswich and Burley said: "Marcus worked very hard and covered plenty of ground. All credit to him."

Newcastle boss Bobby Robson said: "I didn't think it was a fair result. We created the better chances and should've won.

"Shearer was devastated about his penalty miss but on another day he could have finished with a hat-trick.

"Ipswich are a very passionate side and were a credit to themselves."

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