A new year - A new Newcastle?
John Beresford went into 2010 with low spirit, after copping much abuse from the supporters during the month of December. January gave yet another tough schedule with a further 6 games, 2 of them against Liverpool and one against Man Utd. A tough schedule for any side, but for a struggling Newcastle it could mean that they fall further down the table, and maybe spell the end of Beresford's return to football.
With December ending with a match against Liverpool, Newcastle played them for the second game running, this time in the FA Cup, a tough 3rd Round draw. With Newcastle being beaten by Liverpool in their past two meetings, things weren't looking good for the Toon, but a hard fought 0-0 draw earned a replay at Anfield, but that would just make it tougher for Newcastle. Beresford said that, "A draw with Liverpool is a decent result, but now we have to go away to Anfield, and this year Liverpool have turned it into a fortress, only losing two or three games I think." A replay was to be played in 11 days.
A small matter of a match against Man Utd was squashed in between FA Cup ties, and an away trip to the "Theatre of Dreams", crushed Newcastle's dreams. 3 first half goals from Valencia, Vidic and Rooney respectively put Man Utd in a very good position going into the break. As the teams came back on, their was an air about Newcastle, they looked like they wanted the match badly. Beresford must have gone off at them at half time. The next 45 minutes was the most surprising 45 minutes of football ever as Newcastle absolutely dominated Man Utd. They pounded Edwin van der Sar in the goals for Man Utd, but he was up to the challenge and only let in one, a goal for Sol Campbell in the 74th minute. But this match showed that Newcastle could compete with the best, and the fans could start looking up.
Full of confidence, Newcastle travelled to Merseyside in search of a shock win, and they came so close aswell. Joe Cole and Daniel Agger seemed to have crushed the Toon with two goals in the first 20 minutes. But Newcastle are starting to look like the "Comeback Kings", and a goal from Ranger in the 26th minute gave Newcastle some confidence. With 5 minutes left before halftime, Danny Simpson scored an absolute cracker, 30 yards from goal, he hit it on his second touch, flying past Pepe Reina into the top right corner. The second half was the same as Liverpool dominated early, with Newcastle dominating the late stages, but no team could find a way through. Both teams looked very tired, and in Extra Time, a goal never looked like coming and it went to penalties. Only one miss, and it was Andy Carroll who had to suffer the agony, and Pepe Reina was a hero, his penalty save gave Liverpool the win, and progression through to the next round.
Pepe Reina - Liverpool Hero
The team got down after three great matches, and a home draw with Fulham gave them the spark into action they needed. An early penalty miss from Bobby Zamora was ironic for the Toon, and Pires made Fulham pay with a goal in the 34th minute. Joey Barton got sent off in only his 5th game of the season in the 57th minute, and two minutes later, Zamora made up for his penalty miss and gave Fulham a valuable draw as they fight for relegation.
Another tough home game, opponents Stoke, who got the win over Newcastle last time in a 4-3 thriller. This time Newcastle dominated, and an Andy Carroll brace, goals in the 32nd and 60th minutes, gave Newcastle the 2-1 they needed to give the supporters hope. A late goal from Fuller gave Stoke late hope, but they never looked in it, and Newcastle grabbed the 3 points they needed.
2 goals for Carroll, 3 points for Newcastle
A tough away game, the Tyne-Wear Derby, to end the month, and a 2-0 win saw Newcastle fans dancing in the street as they did the double over their biggest rivals. Luisma gave Newcastle the lead only seconds after half time with his first goal of the season. Fernando Gago went off injured only 10 minutes later, a big blow to a key player at Newcastle. Lovenkrands sealed the win with only seconds remaining, and the month ended with a bang for the Toon.
Well a very good month for Newcastle considering the strength of the opposition in some matches. The first 3 matches gave Newcastle some confidence, with good performances vs Liverpool, and a good second half performance vs Man Utd, showing Newcastle are up there with the best.
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Beresford's Man of the Month award goes to Guillermo Ochoa for the second month running, again he kept his side in numerous matches, and probably won them the match at Stoke, so congratulations.
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January Transfers
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Are Newcastle regaining form, or is it only luck? If you are a Newcastle fan, why not tell us what you think. Email us a
[email protected] or text us 'YOUR NAME' followed by 'NEWCASTLE' and then your message. Gary will read several out on Saturday's MOTD.
keep up the good work, both of you !
haha! I'll try and update at college tomorrow though, should be able to do another Henry one which hopefully hasn't become boring :S