29th October 2003: What a fantastic
result! The last time we did something so unexpected was when we won
at Sunderland in the FA Cup in our promotion season.
On that occasion, we went on to promotion and Sunderland struggled
all season. I think it goes without saying that Newcastle are a far
better side than Sunderland were then, but then the victory tonight
wasn't quite as convincing as the one over the Black Cats. I fully
expect Newcastle to be challenging for the Champions League once again
this season.
The Toon had something like 40 attempts on target and 20-odd corners,
but the only statistic that counts is 2-1 to the Albion. It's also
great for Hughesie to get on the scoresheet, especially coming just
minutes after he'd missed an excellent opportunity.
We had to ride our luck at times, but after our experience at St James's
last season, we were certainly due some. All credit to Megson as he
seemed to make the substitutions at the right time, especially bringing
on Volmer just before Shearer's introduction - it sounded as if the
Dutchman had the ex-England man in his pocket. I'm assuming (and certainly
hoping) that Koumas's absence is more precautionary than anything
more sinister, but it makes the result all the more impressive that
we did it without our most talented player.
And to top it all, we've got Manchester United at home in round four.
They may not play all their stars, but given the performance of the
side they put out at Leeds last night, it should be a cracking game.
We are one of only three non-Premiership teams to make the last sixteen,
and Newcastle were the only side in round three to lose to lower league
opposition (although not that much lower!).
Boing Boing!!
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