Sunday 23 September 2018 09:38, UK
The Newcastle fan who threw a bottle at Aaron Wan-Bissaka during their draw at Crystal Palace "made a mistake", Rafa Benitez said.
The fan threw the plastic bottle shortly after the hour mark when Wan-Bissaka was walking past the Newcastle support while a substitution was made.
It hit the Crystal Palace defender but did not hurt him, and Newcastle boss Benitez was clear to distinguish the fan from the rest of the travelling Tynesiders.
"We had almost 3,000 fans here and one made a mistake - but the rest were fantastic," he said.
"If we want to be stronger we need the fans behind us. Our fans away have been outstanding, no doubt about that.
"Even if we make mistakes, even if we miss chances, even if I make the wrong calls, they have to support the players because it's the best way for us to stay in the Premier League. And the fans were excellent again today."
In terms of on-pitch matters, Benitez added he was pleased with the manner of Newcastle's performance, which kept their winless run going but did earn them a creditable point at Selhurst Park.
"You have to be satisfied because of the way we were working against a very good team," he said. "We knew they had very good players in attack, they were pushing our defenders all the time with their ability and pace.
"We were defending a lot but we had some chances on the counter-attack which we couldn't finish, but credit to our players because they did a great job in defence."
