Joao Pedro's equaliser saw Newcastle once again punished for conceding late goals as Watford snatched a 1-1 draw and avoided dropping into the bottom three
The 20-year-old popped up in the 88th minute to nod home from a fine Kiko Femenia cross to cancel out Allan Saint-Maximin's early second-half strike - the Magpies have now dropped 21 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season
"It's hugely disappointing because we were so close," Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said
 "We played really well in the first half, I was really pleased
 We were energetic, I thought we dominated the half
"At the start of the second half, we got the goal and probably then, were content - not intentionally - to see the game out
 We were so close to doing so, I really feel for the players
"The players were so desperate to win
 I think they went a little bit into protection mode, which is on a subconscious level and you don't want to take too many risks
 But it ultimately brings the opposition into the game and that's what happened
"This 'relegation six-pointer' brought a thoroughly entertaining first half - aided by the pumped-up Toon Army - but it did end without a shot on target
Joelinton should have twice fired Newcastle ahead too
 Both chances came from corners with Kieran Trippier joining Ryan Fraser on set-piece duty
 Joelinton firstly flicked the ball onto the underside of the crossbar, before firing wide as Fraser sent in a lovely curling ball to the back post
Newcastle deservedly made the breakthrough less than five minutes after the break
 Jeremy Ngakia had done brilliantly well to keep Saint-Maximin quiet in the first half, but a poor moment of control allowed the Newcastle midfielder through
Saint-Maximin came off the better as the pair tussled for the ball, driving into the area
 He glided past Watford debutant Samir before firing a low, hard effort into the bottom corner to give Newcastle a vital lead (49)
 However, this turned out to be the hosts' only shot on target of the entire 90 minutes
The goal seemed to galvanise Watford, who were looking to end a run of six successive Premier League defeats, and had their best chances of the game as the clock ticked past the hour mark
Joao Pedro saw an effort loop into Martin Dubravka's hands
 Then, it was the battle of the birthday boys as Joshua King - celebrating his 30th - drove into the area
 However, Dubravka - 33 - was out to smother the eventual shot
Moussa Sissoko almost came back to haunt his former club, having spent three years at Newcastle
 It followed another good break from Watford, Emmanuel Dennis riding a few challenges, before laying the ball off for Sissoko on his right
 However, despite an impressive run of his own, the Hornets captain curled his effort past the far corner
But Watford nabbed their deserved equaliser thanks to Joao Pedro's header, keeping the Hornets just above the drop zone by a point after Norwich's 2-1 win against Everton
There were loud boos from the Newcastle fans at full-time, with some leaving after Watford's leveller, as the Magpies sit in 19th place on 12 points
"At one stage, everything was great, the fans were singing, the atmosphere was great, they were 1-0 up and it looked like they were going to go on and win the game
"Saint-Maximin took a knock to the ankle, he carried on for another 10 minutes then they bought Almiron on for him - then the game changed
 Femenia kept taking him the other way, he played and one-two and Watford got back in the game
"Then the fans started booing at the end
 Newcastle just didn't capitalise when they were 1-0 up
 They got nervy, couldn't put four passes together - or even three passes - and in the end, I thought Watford deserved the draw
"When Newcastle got the goal and they started sitting back, the game started to stretch out
 Fair play to Watford
 That's why I think they'll stay up, they've got pace… when the game opens up, they've got players who will make things happen and hurt teams
"Along the way, before the end of the season, they will have another big result in them where they win a game
 They've got a massive game on Friday night when they play Norwich at home
 If Watford win, they could spreadeagle and I say that because five points could be a lot of points
""Watford had their best spell in that second period as we were seeing the game out
 We were close and they had a couple of moments, but we go through those
 We were within touching distance of a really important win but unfortunately we didn't get it
"There's a few things to look at
 We need the second goal and we need to keep attacking
 We need to keep believing in an attacking sense isn't over, we need to go for more goals
 But also, if we don't get the second goal, we have to be ruthless and manage the game better in that last phase
"But if you look where the goal comes from, we're disappointed in a couple of aspects of our defending and decision making because I feel like we bought it on ourselves
"We can't be satisfied, we're hugely disappointed
 We saw this as a big opportunity for us, but that's what we've got
 Now we have to dust ourselves down very quickly, adjust our mindset and get ready for another massive game next week
 "Yes, we feel that way right now when we're winning the game so late into the match
 We saw it as a big opportunity going into the game and it was an even bigger one going into that moment
 Conceding goals late and dropping points has been a common theme and it's something we definitely have to work on
""I am satisfied, but I want more from my payers
 We played our football in the last 30 minutes
 We conceded too many chances to them with set pieces
"In the second half they created just the goal and we created more chances
 But I wanted to see my players more combined
 I have a very good squad and we have to show this
"That is why I'm happy, because at the end, we drew the match
 But I'm not happy because we played not so good that we are used to do
 I could understand it because after six defeats in a row, maybe you are a little anxious, but they had to play
"They understood that when we were desperate, we tied to go more combined… We had to shoot at goal, we had to do something more
 These players can do more
"Fortunately, they scored at the beginning of the second half and we had all the time to draw the match
 Also, we created two or three great chances to draw the match earlier, but finally, Joao Pedro scored the goal