Twice on targetTwo more goals from number 9 Papiss Cisse and one from Ben Arfa prove too much for West Brom as Newcastle United return from the Hawthorns 3-1 victors.
Within the first 5 minutes of kick-off I was wondering where our players had gone and who the imposters in orange were. We looked skillful, confident and fluent in possession, in complete contrast to the team I’ve been watching for that last 4 or 5 weeks. And it paid off too.
Within 2 minutes Jonas placed a pinpoint perfect pass at Perch’s feet in a great position in the box to the left of goal – unfortunately Perch just couldn’t control it. A few minutes later Cisse’s run down the left set up a shot from Demba Ba who forced a save by Ben Foster.
Strike 1 came on 6 minutes. Cabaye took a short corner, passed it to Benny who put in a cross, only for it to be cleared as far as Jonas. Jonas passed it through the defence and to the left for Benny who passed across the goal mouth; Ba stretched for it but couldn’t reach so it was left for Cisse to tap it in. 0-1
A couple of minutes later Benny worked himself into the centre from the right and had a crack at goal from about 5 yards outside the area but it sailed harmlessly high. (more…)
The Hitman.When Norwich City rocked up to Saint James’ Park on Sunday with Paul Lambert (manager) and Delia Smith in tow, it was going to be a great opportunity for a bit of revenge after the mauling we took away to them earlier in the season.
Last time out we were missing a few key players in defence and midfield. This time we had a better squad to pick from, but still missing a couple in the shape of Cheik Tiote and Ryan Taylor. No matter,the game kicked off and Newcastle got straight on it. Captain Coloccini misplaced an early pass out of defence that went straight to a Norwich attacker, but Yohan Cabaye was quick to mop up, spun around and lofted a sweet ball right into the path of Pipiss Cisse, whom had beaten any offside trap expertly. John Ruddy, the Norwich ‘keeper, rushed out to close him down but he still had plenty of time to trap, then try and lob it into the Leazes net. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite get enough height on it and Ruddy duly picked it out of the air.
That spurred the team on though and it was all Newcastle for the first 10 minutes. As the clocked ticked towards the 12 minute mark, a great bit of Hatem Ben Arfa tenacity from deep in his own half, where he won the ball back from the opposition and turned it into attack. First feeding Cabaye, who returned to Ben Arfa, the ball then found it’s way to Guthrie who curved a great ball out to Jonas on the left. One touch later he whipped an excellent early ball into the Norwich area that found the marauding Cisse around the penalty spot. His deft, glancing, sidefoot shot then crashed into the top left corner of the Leazes goal. Newcastle United 1, Norwich City 0. (more…)
Ben Arfa's goal, the only real highlight for the Magpies.Venue: Ashburton Grove, London. Date: Mon 12th Mar 2012. Kick-Off: 8pm. Referee: Howard Webb.
Well, Arsenal came from behind once more to clinch victory for the fourth time in a row, which I have been informed is a Premiership record. Whilst the first half of the game wasn’t exactly dull, a minute or two of pure excitement (with two goals in the process) put the rest of it in the shade somewhat. The second half was generally an exciting affair, though not necessarily for the right reasons from a black and white perspective. Despite being pounded by the Gunners’ artilllery, they were not finishing their fairly numerous chances as they might, and with some sterling defensive work, the Magpies almost held on. Sadly it was not be though, with Geordie hearts broken right at the death. (more…)
ClattermoleVenue: St James’ Park. Date: Sun 4th Mar 2012. Kick-Off: High Noon. Referee: Mike Dean. Crowd: 52,388
This was without a doubt a game of twos! Two totally different halves, two penalties, two red cards, two goals and two managers who should know better, being caught up in the rivalry and squaring up to each other both verbally and physically.
It was raining before the game, and it rained a bit during the game, but the wet weather could not dampen the electric atmosphere of the latest Tyne-Wear derby at St James’ Park, NE1. Already assured of a sellout crowd fired with the usual local pride and passion, United fans were further emboldened by the news released 24 hours earlier, that both Tim Krul and Fabricio Coloccini had signed contracts tying them to the club for the next 5 and 4 years respectively.
First Half
The referee Mike Dean blew his whistle to start the game and nothing happened, as the crowd noise was so intense that Sessegnon, who was waiting to get things under way, didn’t hear it. Eventually we got going however to a wall of boos for the Mackems. There were exactly 32 seconds on the clock when the mackem thug “Clattermole” ignored the ball completely and scythed down Tiote in what was clearly one of those “let him know you’re around” early tackles. He should have been given a straight red card but got away with a yellow, probably because it was so early in the game. Sadly though, this tackle signalled Sunderland’s clear intent to make this a very physical game, and this not only set the tone for the rest of the half, but meant that some of the football went out of the window as United were forced into a war rather than the possession game we have come to expect this season. (more…)
Goals from Cisse and Jonas not enoughNewcastle United are unable to finish off Wolves despite taking a two goal lead into half-time. Goals from Cisse and Jonas in the first half are neutralised by goals from Jarvis and Doyle in the second.
According to one of the commentators on my feed, this match was taking place at the ‘First Direct Arena’, which made me giggle.
Wolves kicked off and had their first chance in under a minute when Doyle went past Williamson but failed to to guide it into the far corner. Two minutes later Wolves had a free kick after a Williamson foul but all they could do with that was smash it into the wall. A lively first 5 or 6 minutes from Wolves but they hadn’t made it count, which was a mistake we weren’t about to make in the following 10 minutes or so.
The fun started in the sixth minute when Cabaye caught Berra in possession and passed to Ba who tried swiping the ball into the net with his right foot going behind his left. It was on target and produced a great save by Hennessey. However the ball eventually found its way out to Tiote who hammered it broadly in the direction of goal and Cisse managed to toe punt it past Hennessey. 1-0. (more…)
