With Fabian Schar seeing red, Newcastle won 1-0 thanks to Joelinton's goal.
Howe later said, “It wasn’t an enjoyable game to experience. The result is unbelievable for us, but how we got there was very, very difficult. The sending off changed the game completely.
“We knew what type of game it would be. Before the sending off we had our moments, but we weren’t in control of the game. I don’t know if a sending off ever truly helps you, but it gets the crowd to inspire you – and that made a difference.
“Last season we scored a huge amount of goals but conceded too many. The guys with ten men produced a really good defensive performance. To a man we were blocking shots, we were covering space very well. On another day we could have played better with the ball.”
On Schar’s red card, Howe said: “The big question is do you want a red card for that. Does Fabi’s action alone warrant a red card? I’m not sure.”
On Bruno Guimaraes’ display, he added: “Defensively he covered every blade of grass. He was immense today.”