Alan Pardew: "Sometimes you have a game plan and your players see it through to the letter and it's pretty galling to look them in the eye and say they've come away with nothing, which I had to do.
"A couple of mistakes cost us the game, and we didn't make many mistakes. It's a tough result for us to take.
"We had a penalty shout that didn't go our way.
"That's the sort of break you need when you're on a run like ours and we didn't get it.
"But I look at my team and it was such an improved performance.
"There was real commitment, a good balance to the team, and, if you're going to get a victory, that's the sort of performance that's going to lead you to one."