Canaries on song! Norwich 2-1 Newcastle.
Posted on July 24th, 2010 | 62 Comments |
Surprisingly, or perhaps not, some fans appear to be taking this pre-season defeat to heart, which would be particularly noticable if you had the privelage of keeping in touch with the match via Lee Ryder’s Blog on the Tyne live feed.
The message to those fans from me, and probably a lot of others, is simple – Get a grip!
It’s pre-season, and whilst it would be nice to have won the game I very much doubt that our whole season is on the verge of collapse because of a narrow defeat to a team that is only one league below us. It could be worse anyway, 6-1, Leyton Orient, ring any bells? Exactly. With a patched up team on the pitch there was always going to be a chance of losing, although it does highlight just how succeptable the squad is to injury.
Right, rant over. All in all , not the best but there was some plus points to come from the performance. Haris Vuckic again impressed and had to be denied a second goal in two games by Norwich goalkeeper, John Ruddy. Shola Ameobi took his goal well and did one of those bits of skill he can produce, when he wants to. Another player to impress was Xisco who looked sharp and sent through a neat through ball for the Ameobi goal.
That said, it wasn’t all sweetness and light from a Newcastle perspective. Our defending was actually awful, and Tim Krul proved that he still has some way to go before he takes the number one jersey from Steve Harper.
Norwich took the lead on 38 minutes after a shambolic backpass from Ryan Taylor which Wes Hoolahan sped on to. Hoolahan then waltzed past two defenders before squaring the ball for Chris Martin to pass the ball into the back of an empty from no more than six yards.
Newcastle made changes at half-time, seven of them in fact, and it was two of those substitutes that combined for the equaliser. Forgotten man Xisco played a crisp ball into Shola Ameobi’s feet. With his back to goal there looked to be nothing on for the striker until he produced one of his ‘Sholaism’s’ by spinning on the spot, beating the defender and slotting home through the Norwich goalkeeper’s legs. 1-1.
Both teams had chances to win the game but ultimately it was Norwich who managed to strike the hammer blow 15 minutes from time. Anthony McNamee crossed from the right flank where he found Chris Martin who flicked the ball goalwards beyond the flapping Tim Krul who helped the ball into the net via a defelction off a defender. 2-1, Norwich.
As I said earlier, the result really isn’t that important, although it’s never nice to lose a match. Aston Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea have all lost over the past couple of days, and I doubt they are overly concerned about it.
The amount of injuries we are carrying at the moment is a concern of mine though, and it is something that needs adressing before the season kicks off properly in a little over three weeks time.
Howay the lads!
Norwich – Ruddy, R Martin, Nelson, Ward (Francomb 63), Drury, Crofts, Hoolahan (McNamee 72), Fox (Gill 78), Surman (Lappin 78), Jackson (Johnson 63), C Martin.
Subs – Steer (gk), Dawkin, Tudur Jones.
Newcastle – Krul, R Taylor (Routledge 46), Tavernier, Coloccini (Williamson 46), Enrique (Ferguson 57), Ranger (Xisco 46), Nolan (Guthrie 46), Barton (Smith 46), Vuckic (Edmundsson 72), Carroll (Lovenkrands 46), Best (Ameobi 46).
Subs – Alnwick (gk), Henderson.
NUFCBlog Author: toonsy
toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.
Oh well.
I was just looking through the photo galleries on nufc.co.uk and look on the last photo, it looks like Barton has a …………….
http://www.nufc.co.uk/articles/20100426/pics-exclusive-more-dressing-room-snaps_2268807_2035574