Newcastle United defender Daryl Janmaat has defended his teammate Tim Krul for the last-minute howler that led to the winning goal for Manchester United, claiming that the defence should have dealt with it.

The game was heading for a 0-0 draw until some pressure from the Red Devils led to a panicky clearance from the Magpies goalkeeper, which fell to the feet of Ashley Young, who managed to pass it into the net.

Janmaat does not blame Krul for the mistake but concedes that the defeat is hard to take.

"It really sucks. We've had a lot of chances ourselves and then we concede a goal like that in the last minute. It's really tough to cope with," the 25-year-old said, according to Yahoo! Sports.

"I think a draw would have been a fair result. Tim Krul saved us several times but then he gets a pass like that in the last minute ... a ball like that should have been kicked into the stands [by the defender]."

The 1-0 victory keeps Louis van Gaal's side in the hunt for a Champions League place, while the Magpies stay in the bottom half of the table.