Schar limps off in defeat at Bristol City

[Getty Images] Newcastle continued their pre-season preparations with a 4-1 defeat at Championship side Bristol City on Wednesday night. Sam Greenwood's curling free-kick put Bristol City ahead before Lorent Tolaj doubled the Robins' advantage before the half-hour mark. Shortly after the restart, Max Bird's strike extended their advantage and, despite Harvey Barnes pulling one back, a Sven Botman own goal restored the three-goal cushion in the closing stages. Ashton Gate - including 3,400 travelling Magpies fans - rose as one to conduct a minute's applause in honour of the late Kevin Keegan in the seventh minute, a nod to the number he wore during a terrific playing career. "I thought it was a really good test for us," Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said post-match. "The scoreline is a difficult one for us to take, I don't think we deserved that at all today. "Anyone who watched the game would have seen that we were very competitive. The goals we conceded were strange ones. They had six shots and scored four goals. "The majority of the game we had control of with the ball. We probably didn't do enough with it in terms of creativity, although we certainly should have scored more than the one we got." A potential worry for Howe was the early substitution of defender Fabian Schar, who was withdrawn after an awkward fall but walked of the pitch. "It's an encouraging sign," Howe added. "I'm not quite sure what the injury is. He felt a bit of tightness in his groin and it was obviously nagging him."