Winless on their last four trips to St. James’ Park, Bournemouth made the long journey to Tyneside in pursuit of a first league victory since Boxing Day. It was the hosts, however, who edged a closely fought opening quarter-hour, with Anthony Gordon directing a good headed chance wide of the target.
For all Newcastle’s possession, the visitors posed a threat at the opposite end, as Dominic Solanke saw a close-range effort superbly thwarted by Martin Dúbravka.
The end-to-end nature of the contest continued as the first half progressed, and Dúbravka again stood firm in the Magpies’ goal to deny Solanke from point-blank range. Grateful for that reprieve, Newcastle looked to up the ante before half-time, but wasteful finishing from Miguel Almirón and Harvey Barnes kept the scores level at the break.
The early stages of the second period followed a similar pattern to the first, with both sides probing for an all-important breakthrough. That moment duly arrived within six minutes of the restart as Solanke pounced on a costly slip from Dúbravka to tap into an empty net.
Only Burnley had picked up fewer points from losing positions than Newcastle, but the Magpies were soon handed a lifeline when Adam Smith was penalised for bringing down Fabian Schär in the box. Gordon assumed the responsibility from the spot, and the winger picked out the bottom corner to restore parity.
Undeterred, Bournemouth went in pursuit of an immediate response, and Semenyo restored their lead with 21 minutes remaining, drilling a clinical effort into the far corner.
Keen to avoid letting the hosts back into the match for a second time, the Cherries looked to keep things tight with time ticking away, but the hosts salvaged a deserved share of the spoils in the second minute of stoppage time when substitute Ritchie tapped home after pinball in the box.
The result sees Newcastle remain four points adrift of the Premier League top six, while the visitors miss out on a first-ever league double over the Magpies.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)
