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Newcastle
United v West Bromwich Albion
St James's Park,
Newcastle. 25th September 2004, 3.00pm. |
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Match
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| Result |
Newcastle United |
3 - 1 |
West Bromwich Albion |
| Scorers |
Patrick Kluivert (70)
James Milner (78)
Alan Shearer (86) |
Geoff Horsfield (87) |
| Attendance |
52,308 |
| Teams |
4-3-1-2
1 - Shay Given (GK)
35 - Olivier Bernard
2 - Steve Carr
3 - Robbie Elliott
5 - Andrew O'Brien
29 - Lee Bowyer
4 - Nicky Butt
7 - Jermaine Jenas
10 - Craig Bellamy
11 - Patrick Kluivert
9 - Alan Shearer |
4-4-2
(GK) Russell Hoult - 1
Martin Albrechtsen - 14
Neil Clement - 19
Thomas Gaardsoe - 4
Darren Purse - 6
Riccardo Scimeca - 2
Jonathan Greening - 8
Andy Johnson - 10
Jason Koumas - 7
Robert Earnshaw - 34
Nwankwo Kanu - 25 |
| Substitutes |
12 - Stephen Harper (GK)
18 - Aaron Hughes
17 - Darren Ambrose
16 - James Milner
32 - Laurent Robert |
(GK) Tomasz Kuszczak
- 29
Darren Moore - 5
James O'Connor - 23
Zoltan Gera - 11
Geoff Horsfield - 9 |
| Substitutions |
L Robert for C Bellamy (55)
J Milner for P Kluivert (77) |
G Horsfield for R Earnshaw
(45)
Z Gera for J Koumas (62) |
| Yellow Cards |
Lee Bowyer (20)
Robbie Elliott (51)
Patrick Kluivert (73) |
Darren Purse (12)
Jonathan Greening (22) |
| Red Cards |
None |
Darren Purse (63) |
| Referee |
M Riley (Leeds) |
This report is based
on the extended highlights from Sky's Football First as I was unable
to make the game.
3-1 certainly flattered Newcastle, particularly if you consider
the period of the game where it was eleven against eleven. They
had much of the possession but I cannot agree with Souness's assertion
that it was only a matter of time before they scored. This game
was changed dramatically by the sending off, and the second booking
in particular was very soft.
The first half saw Newcastle doing most of the attacking without
really breaking down the Albion defence. Hoult didn't have a save
to make and the home side were largely restricted to shots from
outside the box. The back four were excellent with Scimeca looking
much more comfortable back at right back, Albrechtsen untroubled
at left back, and the middle two repelling everything that Newcastle
could muster.
The first booking for Purse was a little harsh as Bellamy hurdled
the challenge but was accidentally caught by Darren's trailing leg.
The former Blues man was, however, lucky that Riccardo Scimeca got
in the way of his swing at Robbie Elliott as they waited for the
free-kick else he could've gone for the early bath much earlier.
Scimeca was in the wars towards the end of the first half as he
flung himself to make two crucial blocks, one of which caught him
in the face, the other a bit lower down, in what was the only time
that Albion could said to be defending desperately. For the rest
of the first half, it was fairly comfortable.
At the other end, there was very little action. Earnshaw trod on
the ball early on when Kanu put him through, and it was indicative
of the Welshman's afternoon as nothing worked for him, he failed
to get any sort of control on the ball, and he was taken off at
half time.
Horsfield was on for the second half and Albion came out exhibiting
much more ambition. Clement went close with a free kick from 30
yards and some trickery from Kanu saw Elliott bring the Nigerian
down on the edge of the box. The Newcastle defender was fortunate
to stay on the field as he looked much more like a last man than
Clement did last week.
Newcastle were still struggling to break down the solid Albion defence
and Megson opted to try something different to try to open up things
at the other end and replaced Koumas with Gera. Koumas had had a
quiet game.
A minute later came the moment that ultimately decided the game.
Kluivert took on Purse who slipped, and as he tried to get back
up he fell into the Dutchman. It was a foul, but it was a very harsh
yellow card. From that moment on, Albion were stretched.
Seven minutes later, a slip by Gera gave Robert some space to advance
and he whipped in an excellent cross that Hoult could only parry.
The ball went straight to Kluivert who returned the ball into the
net. Clement was on the line but failed to make any real effort
to keep the ball out.
A goal down, Albion tried to push forward and were caught two against
two. Scimeca should have done better with the headed clearance which
went straight into the path of Jenas, who squared the ball for substitute
Milner to score, at the second attempt, with his first touch.
The third goal was made by some superb play by Jenas who skipped
to the byline and pulled back for Shearer to score from eight yards.
It was harsh on Albion, and they did manage to grab a consolation
goal when Johnson picked out Horsfield who had lost his marker at
the back post, and he found the net with a great header for his
second goal in four days and lift Albion to 18th place on goal difference.
Newcastle may have won if Purse had not been sent off, but it definitely
changed the game completely. From what I saw on the highlights,
I was impressed with the organisation and solidity that Albion exhibited
when they had a full complement, and they had started to look a
little dangerous at the other end at the beginning of the second
half. The defeat at Colchester is forgotten, some pride is restored,
but the overall situation is not improved.
At the end of the day, it goes down as another defeat, and Albion
are still looking for their first win. No one really expected it
to come at St James's, but the pressure is now on the next two games.
Bolton are a difficult prospect for the televised game next week,
but it is a game that Albion really need to win. That match is followed
up by a home game against Norwich a fortnight later - a real six
pointer.
Marks
Russell Hoult - 7 - Maybe could've done better for the first goal,
but made a great save late on and looked untroubled in the first
half.
Martin Albrechtsen - 6 - Solid display from the Dane; could be a
long term choice at left back.
Neil Clement - 7 - Good defending, reasonable distribution. Improving.
Thomas Gaardsoe - 7 - Another solid performance.
Darren Purse - 7 - MOM. Unlucky to be sent off, he'd been excellent
up until then.
Riccardo Scimeca - 7 - Very accomplished performance bar the mistake
for the second goal.
Jonathan Greening - 6 - Decent showing.
Andy Johnson - 5 - Great ball for Horse's goal, did little else
of note.
Jason Koumas - 6 - Another quiet game.
Robert Earnshaw - 4 - Looks like it may take time for him to get
used to this level of football.
Nwankwo Kanu - 7 - Some great touches, used the ball well.
Geoff Horsfield - 6 - Great goal, but saw little else from him.
Zoltan Gera - 5 - Difficult game for him as we were down to 10 immediately
after he came on.
Gary Megson - 7 - Didn't do a lot wrong; good decisions to sub Earnie
and Koumas. Little he could do after the sending off. Needs to get
the side to attack early, though.
Jon Want, 26th September 2004.
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