Eddie Howe believes that the "football gods were against" his Newcastle United side in Saturday's 2-0 away defeat to FA Cup holders Manchester City in the quarter-finals.
The Magpies were two goals down inside the first half-hour at the Etihad Stadium, albeit in unfortunate circumstances as Bernardo Silva netted two deflected strikes past a hapless Martin Dubravka.
Bernardo's first strike in the 13th minute came from the right-hand side of the penalty area and looped over Dubravka after clipping to outstretched leg of Dan Burn.
The Portuguese playmaker doubled City's advantage from a similar position on the edge of the box, with his second strike going in off the head of Sven Botman.
Stefan Ortega kept out arguably Newcastle's best chance of the contest towards the end of the first half with a superb one-handed save low down to his left to deny Alexander Isak from around 10 yards out.
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Howe made four substitutions all at once midway through the second half in the hope of pulling a goal back, but the Magpies struggled to pose a real threat in the final third and City eventually eased to victory.
Newcastle's painful wait to win their first major trophy since 1955 goes on, and Howe was left frustrated after the match with both the result and misfortunes that went against his side.
"I don't know what to say. Playing Manchester City is difficult at any time. The football gods were against us with the two goals," Howe told reporters.
"We can't feel sorry for ourselves - it just feels the luck hasn't gone our way this season in the big moments.
"We tried our very best to force them into mistakes, but they didn't. They were very good. Conceding the two goals that we did didn't help our cause.
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"It was an uphill battle. We covered a lot of ground, but when we had our moments our last pass was lacking."
Howe has praised Man City for their comfortable performance and expressed his desire for Newcastle to try to reach the same heights that the Citizens have achieved in recent years.
"The difference is their technical quality and their players who can get out of tight situations – it's at the highest level. We're trying to get to their level," said Howe.
"We've got 10 massive games left and are only a few points below seventh place [in the Premier League], so we're looking to end the season on a high."
Newcastle now have a two-week break over the international period before returning to Premier League action at home against West Ham United on March 30.
Oliver Thomas
