Kenedy misses last-gasp penalty as 10-man Newcastle play out goalless draw at Cardiff
Saturday 18 August 2018 16:38, UK
Rafael Benitez refused to be drawn on referee Craig Pawson's performance after a number of contentious decisions in Newcastle's goalless draw at Cardiff.
Pawson failed to penalise Newcastle forward Kenedy for kicking Victor Camarasa in the first half before sending Isaac Hayden off for sliding in from behind on Josh Murphy.
There was more controversy in stoppage-time penalty as 10-man Newcastle were handed a penalty when Cardiff captain Sean Morrison blocked Yoshinori Muto's cross with his arm.
Kenedy compounded a miserable personal performance when his tame spot-kick was saved by Neil Etheridge, as both sides settled for their first point of the season.
"I don't want to talk about the referee," Benitez told Sky Sports. "I saw a lot of things, and that is why I don't want to talk about the referee.
"It was a difficult game, we knew it was going to be difficult. We had problems at right-back, Javier Manquillo was injured and Hayden was sent off.
"Too many things were against us, but in the end we had a penalty and could have got three points.
"We knew this game was, on paper, one where we could fight with them. That was the case, we were fighting until the end.
"It's a pity but at least you get a point with 10 players. You cannot complain about the referee or the players, they were great, so we have to do something a little bit better to get the points.
"We had a couple of chances in the first half that could have been different."
Kenedy failed to complete a single pass in the first half at the Cardiff City Stadium, and his clear swipe on Camarasa summed up his frustrations.
He had to chance of redemption in the closing stages but failed to claim Newcastle's first win of the season with a woeful penalty.
Speaking after the game, his manager dismissed the notion that the Brazilian should not have taken the penalty.
"Yes [Kenedy was the designated penalty taker]," Benitez added. "The designated penalty taker was Ritchie, he was not on the pitch, the second one was Kenedy."
