George Burley was left seething after Mark Venus's second-half tackle on Alan Shearer resulted in a controversial penalty.

The Ipswich Town boss said: "The referee was 50 or 60 yards away but Shearer is an experienced player who was looking for the tackle.

"He went down, the crowd shouted and the decision went their way. When you come to big stadiums like this the decisions go against you. It's frustrating because I doubt if the incident had happened at the other end it would have been given."

Burley added: "I was obviously disappointed with the result but very happy with the way we played.

"The boys worked hard and I really couldn't fault their effort or determination. I felt we deserved to get something from the game.

"They kept going until the very end and we pummelled their goal in the last ten minutes. We had a lot of the ball and Newcastle were hanging on."

Magpies boss Bobby Robson, unsurprisingly, offered an alternative view of the penalty incident.

He said: "George may feel hard done by but maybe he should feel lucky Venus stayed on the pitch.

"He was, after all, the last man and could easily have been sent off. There's no doubt Alan was brought down.

"Ipswich are one of the best teams to visit St James' Park this season, and I'm not just saying that because they were once my baby.

"They are nowhere near looking like a team that might get relegated. On the evidence of that display, they are a very good footballing side with lovely shape and balance."

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