Extra time League Cup scorcher! Scunthorpe United 1-2 Newcastle United.
Posted on August 25th, 2011 | 9 Comments |
From the kick off of this League Cup evening game, Scunthorpe came out of the traps giving everything while Newcastle seemed to be treating it as some kind of training game.
Once the dye was cast, the Magpies just couldn’t seem to get back into the first half, except perhaps a little in the last ten minutes. Overall though, it was a dire performance from Newcastle United until the break, and a good one from the ‘Irons’ of Scunthorpe. Uniteds defence was shakier than Shakin’ Stevens at times, and it took less than a quarter of an hour for Scunthorpe’s Dagnall to take advantage. First of all it was a near miss as the ball bounced off Coloccini. The resulting corner saw Dagnall making no mistake the second time though with a fine finish fromm around eight yards to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Scunthorpe were very effective in stopping Newcastle getting any flowing passing movements together, not that the Premiership side were trying particularly hard to show what should have been a gulf in class. In the rare opportunities Newcastle did have, mostly long ball efforts, Scunthorpe defended well and soon counterattacked to keep the pressure on, closing us down much better than we closed them down.
Crockery was obviously thrown by Alain Pardieux in the Newcastle dressing room at half time however, as the Magpies were MUCH better after the restart. Leon Best had the ball in the back of the net within just a few minutes, only for it to be ruled out for what looked like a very close offside decision. Level. Unlucky. Lovenkrands was bearing down on goal soon after that, but the pace of his run seemed to take the shine off his finish, which was high and wide.
While the Magpies were much better overall, Scunthorpe were still hanging in there, occaisionally threatening and continuing to fashion a few good chances. Demba Ba certainly doesn’t seem to be quite the player he was at West Ham last year, and was substituted in the second half. Picking out poor performances from the Magpies in the early part of this game would be a little like shooting fish in a barrel though.
Once again, it was sometimes unfancied ‘squad’ player, Ryan Taylor, who came to our rescue with yet another stunning free kick that really had some curve on it. With an added impetus now, Newcastle were furious not to get a penalty for a push around the 83rd minute. Ameobi playing in Ryan Taylor in the box, only to see him pushed to ground by Scunthorpe’s Thompson. The referee was blind though, and extra time it was.
The game had been much more exciting for some time now, and though they had an execrable start, the Magpies should have put the game to bed a while back were it not for the referee and a linesman, though Scunthorpe performed admirably throughout and always kept the pressure up. Eventually though, in the 22nd minute of extra time, it was substitute, Sammy Ameobi who finally administered the coup de grace, exploiting what seemed to be some tiredness in Scunthorpe’s defensive ranks. Seemingly untroubled in the box, he cracked off a fine finish into the corner of the net. Game over!
Hopefully, a more detailed (and better) report on the game will be forthcoming in the fullness of time from our man at Glanford Park, Jimbob. I will also endeavour to put up some match highlights and post match interviews as soon as they become available.
Howay the lads!
Scunthorpe (4-4-2): Lillis(G), Wright, Nelson, Canavan, Nolan; Ryan, Togwell, Norwood, Barcham; Dagnall (Duffy 88), Grant (Thompson 77). Booked: Wright.
Subs: Slocombe, Collins, Godden, Palmer, Thewlis.
Newcastle (4-4-2): Krul(G), Simpson, Williamson (S Taylor 44), Coloccini, R Taylor; Lovenkrands, Gosling (Vuckic 70), Cabaye, Marveaux; Ba (Ameobi 65), Best.
Subs: Soderberg, Abeid, Smith, Ferguson. Booked: S Taylor, Cabaye.
Referee: Graham Salisbury.
That’s a fair enough report there worky.
A couple of really great goals, a couple of really great saves, a couple of really BAD ref decisions & a couple of really different halves.
:)