Greek Cup Final 2012 – Olympiacos 2 – 1 Atromitos (AET)
I just thought I’d include this post as a kind of addendum to Andymac’s excellent Atromios v Newcastle United match preview for this evening’s game, which kicks off at 6:00pm.
Atromitos have been losing finalists in the last two Greek Cup finals. The first one ended in a convincing 0-3 beating at the hands of Athenian neighbours, AEK Athens. However that game was more notable for real beatings as the infamous AEK hooligans decided to celebrate by starting a riot just before the end of the game, invading the pitch and attacking Atromitos players. (more…)
Though it looked like Tottenham were getting the better of us in the first half, it was Demba Ba who opened the scoring around 10 minutes after the break with a superb diagonal finish. However mini assassin, Jermaine Defoe, pulled things back for the visitors after 76 minutes, only for Hatem Ben Arfa to put us back in front after 80 minutes, winning and scoring a penalty for the Magpies in what was a very dramatic second half which also saw the Silver Supremo sent to the stands after pushing the fourth official. (more…)
Anita: Excellent vision and technique for a defensive playerOf course, there was much delight on Tyneside when Newcastle United announced they had finally signed the very talented and versatile midfielder and defender, Vurnon Anita, from Ajax.
So, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at Anita’s game gathered from my experience of watching him in the Eredivisie, though it is hardly extensive. I have also included a cornupcopia of videos of the 23 year old mostly looking at his individual contributions in five Eredivisie games, as well as a few more just for fun. Before I get to the videos though, here’s an outline of Anita’s game.
Primarily a defensive midfielder nowadays, Anita started as a right footed right back, and he has also played as a left back too. Though Ajax’s Gregory van der Wiel has kept him from keeping his hand in on the right side of defence in recent times, I’m sure that he could still hold his own there too. (more…)
Highlights and Alan Pardew’s post match interviews from yesterday’s 4-1 defeat to Cardiff City, which saw the Magpies go 3-0 down within 20 minutes of the kickoff thanks to goals from Cardiff’s Aron Gunnarsson and Joe Ralls. Whilst Newcastle United did strike back with a Shola Ameobi penalty just after the restart, Cardiff completed a comprehensive defeat with a fourth goal in the 76th minute strike from Etien Velikonja.
In his post match interview, Alan Pardew blamed injuries to key players and the attitude of his squad for the rout. You can read more details about the injuries the squad are facing in my previous piece. (more…)
