Chris Makin said he would have been 'absolutely devastated' if the last-gasp penalty he conceded had cost Ipswich Town a point at Newcastle.

The Blues emerged with a unlikely share of the spoils thanks to Marcus Bent's double in Saturday's 2-2 draw.

But the outcome would have been very different if Alan Shearer had converted from the spot, a decision made for an alleged push by Makin on Clarence Acuna.

As it was, the Magpies' striker drilled his effort wide and Makin said: "I would have been absolutely devastated because there was no way it was a penalty.

"Even the referee said he went down very easily.

"Thankfully Shearer missed but I was still totally gutted by the result. When you're 2-1 up with two minutes to go you expect to win the game.

"Having said that, we'd have settled for a point beforehand. We really battled hard and carried on where we left off at Blackburn."

Bent back in the side after being dropped for the last two matches made it a memorable comeback by scoring twice in the second half.

And skipper Matt Holland was quick to sing his praises.

"Marcus would be the first to admit things haven't gone too well for him in the last few weeks," said the Blues midfielder.

"But it was great to see him back in the side, looking sharp and scoring two goals."

Holland added: "After four straight defeats we really showed our pride and character.

"Other results went our way but it's what we do that counts.

"Our fate is in our own hands and I believe another three wins should secure our place in next season's Premiership."

Marcus Stewart said: "The lads were quite down in the dressing room afterwards because we felt we should have hung on to win."

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Published Monday, March 18, 2002