Stacey Long celebrates Stevenage's first goalIt is hard to write a match report when you are a fan who is almost lost for words at the dire performance of your own team. But that is what I am. I think that it is safe to say that this was the worst Newcastle performance I have witnessed since I travelled to East London to witness the Magpies’s 6-1 defeat at the hands of another League 2 side, Leyton Orient.
Stevenage manager, Graham Westley, was once quoted as saying “Attitude is better than ability”, or something similar. However, Newcastle were so poor, and so primitive in their tactics that it could be said that on the day, Stevenage were the ones with the ability as well as the attitude.
The Magpies started poorly, then proceeded to get worse as the game progressed, especially so in the second half when all of the real damage was done. Newcastle’s approach seemed to consist largely of lots of long balls punted into the box but with hardly any real chances created, except, perhaps, for a Barton effort just before half time which was saved by Stevenage keeper, Chris Day. They seemed to find it very hard to get going, and their tactics were so poor that one could be forgiven for thinking that Stevenage were the Premiership side, and Newcastle the League Two battlers. They certainly had the lion’s share of the chances and played a more passing game. (more…)
No giant killing to see here (please!)Good afternoon lads and lassies, welcome to the match banter thread for Newcastle United’s third round FA Cup tie against Stevenage.
League Two’s Stevenage have had a decent start to their first season of league football, securing a mid-table position and having only lost twice at home this season.
But the Toon are also amidst a run of form having picked up wins against Wigan and West Ham in the last two matches.
Given that our players are starting to build up a bit of a queue outside the treatment room, we could really do with a comfortable game and no faffing about with replays like we did back in ’98 with Stevenage.
Stevenage manager Graham Westley has this to say about today’s encounter: (more…)
Toon take on Stevenage in the cupIt’s all the fun of the FA Cup today as Newcastle United visit Broadhall Way to take on League Two’s Stevenage.
Newcastle are 73 places above Stevenage who currently sit at 13th in League Two in what is their first season in the Football League.
This is the only Premier League v League Two tie of the round and I suspect neutrals will be hoping it results in a ‘Giant Killing’.
Truth is, it’s never as easy as the gulf in league positions would suggest to go to these places and dominate, so we should not be complacent.
We last played Stevenage in the FA Cup in 1998 when the then non-league team held us to a 1-1 draw to force a replay that we won 2-1 at home. Kenny Dalglish – our manager at the time – didn’t fancy that game at all and he complained about all manner of things from the size of the stadium to the quality of the balls. Kenny liked a good moan. (more…)
Up for the cup?The winter nights are upon us, it’s freezing cold, Christmas is just around the corner, and all of that can only mean one thing – The FA Cup is upon us.
The romance of the FA Cup is something that is recognised the world over. Every year there are shocks and success stories and tales of David v Goliath. People love to back the underdogs, and the FA Cup remains one of the only competitions that can pit Champions League teams against local amateur sides.
Newcastle haven’t had much luck with cup draws in recent years, and they usually get drawn away at some of the real big hitters like Manchester United or Arsenal or Chelsea. It’s very seldom that we get a plum draw, and the last time I can think of that happening was a few years back against Yeading, and a couple of years before that, ironically against Stevenage. We still managed to just about scrape through those ties aswell, with the help of a replay against Stevenage. That is the magic of the FA Cup. (more…)
“The Hope of the North” and “The North v South Cup Final”
The first film introduces the Newcastle players taking part in the FA Cup final of 1932, and the second introduces their opponents from the Arsenal team.
There are two more films, a longer one with coverage of the final at Wembley, and one showing the team getting a rousing reception from Geordies upon their return to Tyneside. Finally, there are several more links to newsreels showing silent coverage of Newcastle’s progression in the earlier rounds, with victories over Leicester, Watford and Chelsea respectively. (more…)
