They came in their thousands to greet new dawns at Newcastle and at Liverpool and to pay homage to one of the greatest either club has ever known. The tribute to the late Kevin Keegan here at the place they call the Cathedral on the Hill before kick-off really was quite something.Keegan – modest as he was – would have appreciated it but not as much as he would have a football match that ebbed and flowed dramatically and thrillingly and was not ultimately decided until almost the very last kick of the afternoon.Newcastle – now under the guidance of German coach Matthias Jaissle – were as brave and energetic and committed as Keegan always liked his teams to be. At 2-1 up with only 30 seconds of added time remaining, they seemed to have this game won.But Liverpool – as flawed and unpredictable here under Andoni Iraola as they were last season under Arne Slot – were admirably determined not to lose. And in the 96th minute, substitute Victor Munoz fell under a clumsy challenge from the otherwise excellent Lewis Hall and Dominik Szoboszlai smashed the resulting penalty high into the top corner with his right foot.It felt like a huge moment in Iraola’s early days. Defeat in game one would have weighed heavily. It was, however, the very most his team deserved.On this evidence the problems the Spaniard has inherited from Slot will take a while to solve. Centre-forward Alexander Isak – booed throughout by Newcastle fans on his return to St James’ Park – continued to look drained of any kind of belief or attacking instinct while Liverpool once again looked horribly vulnerable against a team able to break on them at speed. Andoni Iraola will be relieved to see his Liverpool side escape with a point at Newcastle United The Reds rescued a 2-2 draw thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai’s (left) stoppage-time penalty Szoboszlai rifled his spot-kick into the top left-hand corner to earn Liverpool an unlikely pointNewcastle, meanwhile, will wonder quite how they didn’t win. Liverpool were comfortably dominant in possession but the better chances were Newcastle’s and twice Yoane Wissa failed to convert very good opportunities with his team a goal to the good late in the game.It is this that will keep Jaissle awake tonight. This really should have been a perfect start for the man chosen to succeed Eddie Howe.Such has been the upheaval at the club over the summer that of the team that started a thriller lost 3-2 here to Liverpool almost exactly a year ago, only two players – Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga – were in the line-up for this one. There were three summer signings in the team and three on the bench but for long periods it was hard to tell.Liverpool were skittish while Newcastle were resolute. Indeed the opening goal was utterly exhilarating while also having some Liverpool hesitancy written through it.Ryan Gravenberch – one of his team’s better players during last season’s difficulties – did well to find space 25 yards from the Newcastle goal but as a shot at goal opened up for him, he for some reason chose to pass square to his left across the top of the penalty area. As soon as that pass was intercepted, Liverpool were in trouble.Will Osula carried the ball out of his own half and released the galloping Elanga to his right. Liverpool left-back Milos Kerkez did his best to keep up with his opponent but it was a non-contest and with goalkeeper Alisson unwilling to advance beyond his six-yard line, Elanga was able to slide a low right-foot shot across goal and in to the far corner.With only five minutes gone, the post Howe era on Tyneside was off to a flyer and for the remainder of the opening 45 minutes Newcastle were good for their lead.Liverpool enjoyed some territory but it was a frenetic and broken game and when they were asked to defend Iraola’s team looked every bit as uncomfortable and uncertain as they did last season. Alexander Isak endured a difficult first return to St James’ Park since leaving for Liverpool Anthony Elanga (right) broke the deadlock early on with this brilliant finish for NewcastleThere were some glimmers of hope for Liverpool. A low Florian Wirtz shot from the left was saved by new Newcastle goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek while there were two or three shots from decent positions that were blocked by home defenders happy to throw their bodies in the way of the ball when necessary.On the whole, though, Liverpool lacked fluency with the right-sided combination of Jeremie Frimpong and young Rio Ngumoha struggling in particular to settle into an understanding. There was much fussing among the Liverpool fanbase last season about a perceived lack of game time for Ngumoha. Here, the 17-year-old – scorer of the winning goal in that game a year ago – got very little change out of the impressive Newcastle left-back Hall.Up front Isak was largely anonymous. The Swede had smiled when jeered by the home fans during the warm-up but in truth looked a little cowed once the game started, seemingly low on confidence.Early in the second half, Cody Gakpo seemed to have bailed his team out. The Dutch forward’s low right foot shot when given too much space in the 55th minute flew like a rapier into the bottom corner. Briefly Liverpool looked set to take control, camping deep in Newcastle territory.But another break from the home team did for them far too easily within a couple of minutes. Cody Gakpo equalised for Liverpool after half-time with this long-range low strike However, Newcastle soon hit back with Joe Willock finishing a superb counter-attacking moveNewcastle were outnumbered by six bodies to two as Wissa and substitute Joe Willock broke from their own half. But as the Liverpool players left the business of actually tackling anybody to each other, Wissa was able to feed his team-mate on the left side of the penalty area and Willock’s curling right-foot shot found the net off the foot of Alisson’s left hand post. It was a fabulous finish from the 27-year-old but at the same time another wretched goal for Liverpool to concede.Liverpool needed a response but looked done for. Isak scooped a very good chance into the gods and would surely have been taken off had Iraola had any kind of alternative on the bench. And then came those two chances for Wissa, one missed at the near post from a low cross and another placed too close to Alisson when played clear.That opportunity came and went with just five minutes remaining and didn’t look to have cost his team by the time the Congo forward was substituted in the 95th minute. But time added for that switch actually gave Liverpool chance to launch one final attack and Hall’s foul on Munoz was clear.Liverpool are out of jail for now but Slot was sacked for a reason. Sustained recovery under Iraola could be a while coming.