Tayls of woe! West Brom 4 Newcastle 2.
Posted on January 24th, 2010 | 211 Comments |
Amidst some baffling officiating, Newcastle’s ‘Wembley Dream’ was shattered by a strong West Brom team who went two better than their plundering at St James’ last Monday, to take them through to the next round of the FA Cup. But the matchday officials can expect lifelong infamy round these parts, as they more than played their part in the fortunes of the victors.
Chris Hughton made expected changes from the 2-2 draw earlier in the week, which saw Tim Krul replace Harper between the sticks, Ryan Taylor come in at right back for the newly-acquired Danny Simpson and Tamas Kadar slot in for Steven Taylor, who appears to have suffered a serious knee injury following a shoddy challenge from Bednar in the previous game. Fabrice Pancrate and Andy Carroll also started, with Lovenkrands understandably being given time away to spend with his family and Ameobi dropping to the bench. The shape of the team changed as we elected for the 4-4-1-1 approach with Pancrate allowing Guthrie to move into the middle with Smith, Gutierrez in his usual wide left role and Nolan pushing in behind Carroll.
West Brom manager, Roberto Di Matteo, had suggested he would also make changes to protect his squad for the priority of promotion, but it was a very familiar starting eleven which ultimately trotted out. And yet despite that, it seems like they lacked the quality and drive on display in the league game. However, in a first half where Newcastle players were again found wanting for some creativity and where a number barely applied themselves, it was West Brom who took a deserved 2-0 lead into the break.
West Brom took the lead on 17 minutes, when Olsson was given far too much room in the box, which echoed his opportunity in Monday’s game and he headed towards goal, and although debatable, Enrique’s clearance was adjudged to be behind the line. If the first goal was slightly questionable, the second was a sign of what was to come. Bednar carried on where he left off in Monday’s game with some awful fouling and when he had three or four attempts at Tamas Kadar before throwing himself to the floor, the expected outcome was a Toon free kick on the edge of the box.
To the astonishment of both players, fans and commentators alike, referee James Linnington conferred with his linesman and gave a penalty. After a booking for Kadar, up stepped Dorrans to make it 2-0. The remaining fifteen minutes of the first half was largely forgettable and it seemed like a long road back for Newcastle to get anything out of the game.
However, with Ando and Mick Lowes promising that the next goal would be decisive, a much more spirited display in the seond half led to a great run from Gutierrez, and when the Argentinian pulled the ball back for Andy Carroll, the striker volleyed home emphatically with his weaker right foot, and it was game on again.
When Guthrie then crossed from the right, Olsson’s block appeared to come off his arm, though the protests went unheard. And with our tails up it was another ‘Tayls’ who went close to winning the second of three penalty shouts for Newcastle, when he took a tumble in the box, though Lowes and Ando conceded that it could have gone either way. But they more convinced when Ameobi’s first real involvement ended in him being sandwiched between two defenders.
But as the referee waved away the penalty claims, and Shola was left in an injured heap on the floor, West Brom almost inevitably broke. And as Jerome Thomas stepped across Ryan Taylor’s path, the full back put his arm into the forward’s back to send him sprawling. After a lengthy delay, Linnington showed Taylor a red card and Dorrans despatched his second penalty of the game to make it 3-1.
And from being so close to salvation, Toon fortunes went rapidly downhill as Ameobi joined Taylor on the sidelines having not recovered from the ‘sandwich’, and being replaced by Ranger. When Thomas made it 4-1 from a deflection off a great challenge by Enrique and after picking up a couple of silly bookings in frustration and generally looking ragged, most in black and white were just willing the whistle to blow. But Andy Carroll had other ideas and after sidestepping a number of challenges he deposited the ball beyond Carson to reduce the deficit and went close to doing so further after a decent cross from Donaldson who had come on for Guthrie.
But a miracle wasn’t forthcoming and while Hughton and several players protested furiously, the Newcastle fans who had been in good numbers and in good voice behind the goal, made their own feelings known for the officials’ incompetence.
So the road to Wembley comes to a dead-end again, and for some fans a welcome relief to allow us to concentrate on more pressing matters. However, this supporter is personally quite gutted by the outcome, not least by the manner in which it happened. But it’s done now and there’s nothing can be done about it, save perhaps, for a petition to get the officials some much-needed training before they take charge of another professional game.
So where does it leave us? Well arguably it’s a kick in the teeth from our promotion rivals and will inevitably dent our morale slightly, though we did respond well in spite of the adversity pressed upon us. More importantly, we have to consider recent casualties, not least those from this particular game. Danny Simpson is still suffering both physical discomfort from the West Brom league game and the mental torture of being given the runaround by Thomas. Ameobi’s injury is still to be confirmed but he could also be missing.
And now the real ‘Tayls’ of woe, Ryan Taylor now suspended for a handful of games for his straight red card. And arguably the most telling of all was the absence of Steven Taylor, who has reportedly damaged his knee ligaments which could sideline him for the rest of the season. With deals stalling, or in some cases barely starting, to get new recruits through the door, perhaps the disappointment of a cup run ending is the least of our problems right now as we look forward to the home against Palace on Wednesday?
Us – Krul, R Taylor, Jose Enrique, Smith, Coloccini, Kadar, Pancrate, Guthrie, Carroll, Nolan, Gutierrez.
Subs – Harper, Tozer, LuaLua, Donaldson Shane Ferguson, Ameobi, Ranger
West Brom – Carson, Olsson, Cech, Tamas, Jara, Koren, Brunt, Thomas, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Bednar.
Subs – Kiely, Martis, Zuiverloon, Teixeira, Cox, Mattock, Miller.
Att -16,102 (including 3,000+ noisy Mags)
P.S. Apologies for the tardiness, but the Bowburns had a late one last night…
NUFCBlog Author: bowburnmag
bowburnmag has written 234 articles on this blog.
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