Taylor: Ref got penalty right

Taylor: Ref got penalty right

Published Oct. 16, 2011 9:15 p.m. ET

Taylor believes Newcastle's determination showed as they twice fought back to stay unbeaten with a 2-2 Premier League draw against Tottenham. The Magpies centre-back brought down Emmanuel Adebayor to concede a penalty from which Rafael van der Vaart gave Spurs a first-half lead, but with Probert taking his time over a decision, there appeared to be doubt over how much contact had been made. "I think it was a penalty, I made contact and I'm disappointed with that," Taylor said on Sky Sports 1. "But credit to the lands, we came back and it was fully deserved. "There's determination and a winning mentality in the squad and today that showed." Although they had twice trailed, Newcastle finished on top after first Demba Ba levelled, then Shola Ameobi cancelled out Jermaine Defoe's strike to make it 2-2, and Fabricio Coloccini had a late chance to win it for the Magpies. "We knew if we got a goal it was going to be electric here and the fans got behind us and rode us on," said Taylor. "From going a goal behind we came back and were unlucky to get a point." Cheick Tiote, named man of the match, said he felt Newcastle had passed an important test as they bid to keep up their excellent start to the season. "It was a really good game, played well and we deserved the point," he said. "It was a big test because everybody knows Tottenham is a good team and today we saw that." Newcastle stay fourth with a match against struggling Wigan next on the agenda. "There's loads of confidence," Taylor said. "We're playing well so bring on the next game against Wigan. We're looking forward to it."

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