Toon didn't need the Hassell!How very dare they! With their short arms and deep pockets, those tight Yorkshire gets refused to give us three points and Barnsley 2 Newcastle United 2, was probably as fair a result as we deserved in the end. Backed by a minibus short of 7,000 fans, it was set up for and Newcastle were probably expecting, a perfect return. As it happens, apart from a spell in the first half, Barnsley were more than good for their point and battered us for spells. And this time we couldn’t sneak a win, though we came very close and it took a last gasp equaliser to spoil all of the black and white fun.
With roughly 7,000 fans spilling down the A1 and from various parts of the country, there was promise of a special day out and as the masses gathered behind the North Stand (and West Stand) in the bright wintery sunshine, the mood was vibrant. Hughton made several changes to the team that played against Coventry, as Ryan Taylor game in for Danny Simpson, while Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll (a surprise inclusion) replaced Peter Lovenkrands and Shola Amoeobi. The formation began as a 4-5-1 with Nolan playing mostly as a second striker but as the game progressed he dropped deeper. (more…)
Danger, danger...As a portion of the football world still await us tripping up and falling flat on our faces, Newcastle United continue to do what we’ve done best so far this season. A clean sheet and three points in the bag! Tonight’s 2-0 victory over Coventry City, meant it was our fourth clean sheet in a row (twelve in total) and our seventh win on the trot. The last time we did that, King Kev was in charge over 13 years ago. Let’s hope our season doesn’t turn out the way that one did though…
Would you credit it though? We were again outplayed for long periods of the game and yet we did the important thing which was to come away with a win. Despite being outplayed overall, Newcastle started well and with the confidence expected of the league leaders. Hughton also rang the changes from the previous game and with Nicky Butt coming in for Nolan, Pancrate in for Guthrie and Ameobi back from a long lay-off, there were three players buzzing to impress. Andy Carroll didn’t get involved at all.
This was another match for which Radio Newcastle were my eyes on the game, but with our defence looking shaky again to begin with, Jonas Gutiérrez gave us some respite against a Coventry side seeking a first win in ten league games. Fabrice Pancrate appeared to struggle against the pace of their other full back. (more…)
Pick that one out...If you asked me at half-time if I’d be happy with a repeat of the first half after the break, we’d have walked away with three points following a 2-0 victory and I would have been bemoaning the obvious lack of quality in our side once again. As it was, the scoreline was the same and the manner in which we won was far from convincing. But following the early second half dismissal of Kevin Nolan, this result held an awful lot more satisfaction than it might have, and proved once again that winning is a good habit to be in.
Having started with the same eleven as we did against Swansea, we started brightly enough although our defence seemed less than sure of itself this week. Despite a number of scares, including a goalline clearance from Steven Taylor, we took the lead on 20 minutes after Harewood had blocked the keeper’s clearance and Lovenkrands was left with a straightforward tap-in to make it 1-0. (more…)
A cup...We’re still on course for some silverware this season after the reserves came through a tough test against their non-league foes, to reach the semi-finals of thecup. Newcastle Reserves lined up at home to Newcastle Benfield of the Northern League, in the quarter final stage of their defence of the Northumberland Senior Cup.
Last season saw the second string side beat Benfield 2-1, at the semi-final stage of the competition and at the same ground with goals from Mark Doninger and Wesley Baheng. Newcastle Benfield sit in 8th place in the Northern League and have a spattering of former YTs of various professional clubs (including United) on the books, including one who’s a physio at the town.
At a blustery Whitley Park, Benfield took an early lead, when a speculative shot from Shaun Bell was carried over the fingers of Robinson and went in off the underside of the crossbar, to put the Northern League side 1-0 up. The wind did it’s best to spoil the game but the youngsters of Newcastle tried to combat it with good interplay, though Benfield largely kept them at bay initially. (more…)
