Souness stays upbeat despite loss
Graeme Souness feels Newcastle are in a strong position despite losing the first leg of their Intertoto Cup semi-final against Deportivo.
The Magpies boss said: "I am happy. We would have taken 2-1 before we came here. This is a team full of international players.
"I can't ask any more than I got from my players in terms of effort and what I asked them to do.
"We have come here, got a result, and kept the tie alive."
Souness was missing several first-choice players through injury and had little experience on the bench.
He added: "We would have liked to have created more but you look at our team and our bench and look at their team and their bench and it was men against boys in some areas.
Lee Bowyer's goal won praise from Souness but he was unhappy with the way Deportivo got their winner.
Sounesss said: "Lee's was a fantastic strike, he showed great technique and kept it down. I'd like to see it again on television, I bet it looks really good.
"But from their part they will think their second goal was a great goal.
"Jorge Andrade ran more or less from their right-back area. He is quick but he should have been challenged and prevented from getting all the way into the box to get a shot in."
