NEWCASTLE 0 FULHAM 0
NEWCASTLE: Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Guthrie (Routledge 76), Tiote, Nolan, Gutierrez, Carroll, Lovenkrands (Ranger 76). Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Campbell, Smith, Xisco, Steven Taylor.
FULHAM: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hughes, Hangeland, Duff, Dempsey, Murphy, Davies, Gera (Etuhu 69), Andrew Johnson (Eddie Johnson 89), Dembele. Subs Not Used: Stockdale, Pantsil, Kamara, Greening, Briggs.
Att: 44,686
It was another frustrating afternoon for Chris Hughton's men as they produced another bout of stage-fright in front of their own public.
But it could have been even worse for the Magpies, who saw Moussa Dembele's 70th-minute volley come back off the crossbar after Tim Krul had kept out three efforts from Clint Dempsey and another from Zoltan Gera.
Last season St James' Park was a fortress when we went through the entire campaign without a single defeat on home turf.
This time around, we don't know what Newcastle side is going to turn up!
How do you explain going from the 6-0 over Aston Villa and 5-1 against the Mackems, to defeats at the hands of also-rans Blackpool, Stoke and Blackburn?
Fulham had not won an away game in 28 attempts ... but (like Blackburn) they do have an impressive record at SJP for some reason. Is it Newcastle complacency or do the minows raise their game?
Andy Carroll gave Brede Hangeland a tough afternoon, and it was only an amazing save from Schwarzer that stopped the new England international (come Wednesday) from grabbing the points.
After a slow start the visitors worked their way into the game as their passing and movement stretched their hosts and it was they who mustered the first serious attempts on goal in a flurry of activity.
First Krul had to come from his line to block Dempsey's close-range effort after Hangeland had flicked on a 28th-minute Simon Davies corner, and he then had to dive full length to turn away Gera's left-foot drive from 20 yards.
He was at full stretch once again on the half-hour to turn away Dempsey's curling shot with Fulham starting to dominate.
However, Newcastle finished the half strongly and might have taken the lead themselves eight minutes before the break.
Danny Guthrie, deputising for the suspended Joey Barton, delivered a corner perfectly into Carroll's run and the striker's volley was unwittingly blocked by team-mate Kevin Nolan on the line.
The rebound dropped to Lovenkrands and he smashed it towards goal only for Schwarzer to save instinctively.
But as the half-time whistle sounded, the anxiety in the stands had decreased little.
The home side needed only two minutes of the second half to call Schwarzer into action once again when Guthrie slid the ball into Lovenkrands' path and his shot was parried by the Australian with Hangeland clearing the loose ball.
Schwarzer was extended even further five minutes later when Carroll ran on to a clearance 22 yards out and blasted in a stinging volley which was heading into the bottom corner before the goalkeeper got down to turn it away.
But Krul had to match his opposite number's feat four minutes later when Dempsey ran on to Dembele's lay-off and fired firmly towards the bottom corner.
However, Newcastle went close once again with 66 minutes gone when Jonas Gutierrez and Guthrie broke at pace for the latter to cross for Lovenkrands, whose firm header was saved by Schwarzer.
Mike Williamson had to make a timely intervention to deny Cottagers striker Andrew Johnson, making his first league start since January, with 69 minutes gone, and from the resulting corner substitute Dickson Etuhu's header was blocked and Dembele rattled the crossbar with a volley.
Hughton threw on the youthful legs of Nile Ranger and Wayne Routledge with time fast running out, but it was Carroll who went closest as time ran down with Hangeland making a priceless block to keep out his 85th-minute strike.
PREMIERSHIP
Saturday 13th November 2010
Aston Villa v Man Utd 12.45
Man City v Birmingham 15.00
Newcastle v Fulham 15.00
Stoke City v Liverpool 17.30
Tottenham v Blackburn 15.00
West Ham v Blackpool 15.00
Wigan Athletic v West Brom 15.00
Wolves v Bolton 15.00
Sunday 14th November 2010
Chelsea v Sunderland 16.10
Everton v Arsenal 14.00
JACK-THE-LAD PREDICTED THE SCORE -
"Five against the Mackems!"
NEWCASTLE 5 SUNDERLAND 1
NEWCASTLE: Krul, Jose Enrique, Coloccini, Williamson, Simpson, Tiote, Barton, Nolan, Gutierrez, Ameobi (Ranger 86), Carroll. Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Routledge, Lovenkrands, Perch, Ryan Taylor, Smith.
SUNDERLAND: Mignolet, Bardsley, Bramble, Turner, Onuoha, Henderson, Cattermole (Mensah 76), Malbranque, Elmohamady (Gyan 40), Welbeck (Richardson 55), Bent. Subs Not Used: Gordon, Zenden, Da Silva, Ferdinand.
Att: 51,988
It was as close to the perfect performance I have ever seen from a Newcastle United side.
There was no weakness; no player gave less than 100%; and it was a system that ripped the heart out of the Mackems and had them running for the exit with half and hour still to go.
Captain Marvel Kevin Nolan put in one of the best performances I have EVER seen, and I am old enough to remember Tony Green's stunning game at Old Trafford; Supermac's double at Hillsborough against Burnley; Shearer's five against Sheff Wed; Tino's hat-trick that rocked Barcelona; and David Ginola's wonder show at Bolton.
He scored a hat-trick, but that was just part of it. He pulled the piss out of Cattermole for 76 minutes and Steve Bruce finally put his skipper out of his misery by subbing him before he broke down in tears!
Nolan goaded him with: "What's the score? Eh eh eh eh?" and when Cattermole left the field Nolan then turned his attention to Mensah, who was so lucky not to get sent off for biting back.
Nolan will make the headlines, but not far behind him was Joey Barton who was AWESOME! Every pass, cross, corner and free-kick put the Mackems to the sword, and this was the best we have ever seen of him.
But there were 11 stars out there, and the Scum couldn't lick their boots.
It was as close to perfection as I have ever seen.
Match report:-
The Magpies were on the front foot from the off as the game started at a lively pace, and they steadily built momentum before exploding into life with 24 minutes gone.
It took a fine reaction save from Simon Mignolet to keep out Andy Carroll's bullet header, and the Belgian had to be equally alert two minutes later to claw Joey Barton's stinging drive away from the bottom corner.
But the deadlock was finally broken from the resulting corner when central defender Mike Williamson got up well to head down Barton's corner and Nolan sent the ball into the roof of the net with an acrobatic overhead kick.
The noise level at St James' Park reached ear-splitting levels as Nolan was mobbed by his team-mates, and it was to get much, much better for the home fans before the half-time whistle sounded.
Newcastle increased their lead within eight minutes when Carroll's scuffed volley fell perfectly for the criminally unmarked Nolan, who controlled before slipping the ball past the advancing Mignolet.
Bruce's game plan was simply not working, with lone striker Bent almost redundant, and the manager made his tactical move five minutes before the break when he sent on £13million-plus man Gyan in place of Ahmed Elmohamady and switched to a 4-4-2 formation.
But before the new arrival could make an impact, his side fell further behind after Nedum Onuoha's clumsy injury-time challenge on Jonas Gutierrez prompted referee Phil Dowd to point to the spot.
Ameobi, who converted a penalty in the corresponding fixture two seasons ago, repeated the feat to pile the pressure on Bruce and his players.
Sunderland's reshuffle had seen Steed Malbranque drop into a midfield four and Jordan Henderson move out to the right, and while that gave them a better shape, they caused few problems for their hosts in the opening minutes of the second half.
Their woes deepened with 53 minutes gone when in his eagerness to prevent Carroll from racing in on goal, Bramble launched himself into a desperate challenge which sent the striker sprawling, and was punished with a straight red card.
Carroll sent a towering header over the bar two minutes later with the visitors rocking, and Bruce introduced Kieran Richardson as a replacement for Danny Welbeck with things going from bad to worse.
Krul, who had been a virtual spectator for much of the game, had to get down well to turn away Phil Bardsley's 65th-minute strike, but the Magpies were coasting to victory.
They increased their lead with 20 minutes remaining when Carroll's powerful header came back off the crossbar and Ameobi rifled home spectacularly.
There was worse to come five minutes later when Nolan met Ameobi's flick-on two yards out to complete his hat-trick, and Bent's last-minute strike repaired none of the damage inflicted on the demoralised visitors.
NEWCASTLE UNITED 2010/11
PREMIERSHIP
NEWCASTLE 0 FULHAM 0
Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Guthrie (Routledge 76), Tiote, Nolan, Gutierrez, Carroll, Lovenkrands (Ranger 76).
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Campbell, Smith, Xisco, Steven Taylor.
NEWCASTLE 1 BLACKBURN 2 (Carroll)
Krul, Simpson, Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique, Barton, Nolan, Tiote (Routledge 88), Gutierrez, Carroll,Ameobi (Ranger 46).
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Campbell, Lovenkrands, Smith, Steven Taylor.
ARSENAL 0 NEWCASTLE 1 (Carroll)
Krul, Simpson, Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique, Barton, Tiote, Nolan, Gutierrez, Carroll, Ameobi (Ranger 82).
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Campbell, Routledge, Lovenkrands, Smith, Steven Taylor.
NEWCASTLE 5 SUNDERLAND 1 (Nolan 3, Ameobi 2 - 1 pen)
Krul, Jose Enrique, Coloccini, Williamson, Simpson,Tiote, Barton, Nolan, Gutierrez, Ameobi (Ranger 86), Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Routledge, Lovenkrands, Perch, Ryan Taylor, Smith.
WEST HAM 1 NEWCASTLE 2 (Nolan, Carroll)
Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Barton, Nolan, Tiote, Gutierrez, Carroll, Ameobi.
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Guthrie, Routledge, Lovenkrands, Perch, Ryan Taylor, Smith.
NEWCASTLE 2 WIGAN ATH 2 (Ameobi, Coloccini)
Krul, Perch (Ranger 89), Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique, Guthrie (Routledge 66), Tiote, Barton, Gutierrez, Lovenkrands (Ameobi 60), Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Ryan Taylor, Smith, Kadar.
MAN CITY 2 NEWCASTLE 1 (Gutierrez)
Krul, Perch, Williamson, Coloccini (Campbell 36), Jose Enrique, Ben Arfa (Routledge 7), Nolan (Carroll 76), Tiote, Barton, Gutierrez, Ameobi.
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Lovenkrands, Ryan Taylor, Smith.
NEWCASTLE 1 STOKE CITY 2 (Nolan pen)
Krul, Perch, Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique, Ben Arfa (Gutierrez 62), Barton, Tiote (Ameobi 74), Routledge, Nolan, Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Lovenkrands, Ryan Taylor, Smith, Ranger.
EVERTON 0 NEWCASTLE 1 (Ben Arfa)
Harper (Krul 35), Perch, Coloccini, Williamson,Jose Enrique, Routledge, Tiote, Barton,Ben Arfa (Gutierrez 84), Nolan, Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Campbell, Lovenkrands, Ryan Taylor, Smith.
NEWCASTLE 0 BLACKPOOL 2
Harper, Perch, Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique, Routledge (Ameobi 81), Smith (Lovenkrands 62), Barton, Gutierrez (Ben Arfa 73), Nolan, Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Krul, Campbell, Ryan Taylor, Tiote.
WOLVES 1 NEWCASTLE 1 (Carroll)
Harper, Perch, Williamson, Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Routledge, Smith, Barton, Gutierrez, Nolan, Carroll (Ameobi 81).
Subs Not Used: Krul, Lovenkrands, Ryan Taylor, Kadar, Vuckic, Ranger.
NEWCASTLE 6 ASTON VILLA 0 (Barton, Nolan 2, Carroll 3)
Harper, Perch, Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique, Routledge (Ameobi 76), Smith (Ryan Taylor 76), Barton, Gutierrez (Xisco 80), Nolan, Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Krul, Lovenkrands, Vuckic, Tavernier.
MAN UTD 3 NEWCASTLE 0
Harper, Perch, Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique, Routledge, Smith, Nolan (Ameobi 71), Barton,Gutierrez (Xisco 80), Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Krul, Ryan Taylor, Vuckic, Ranger, Tavernier.
CARLING CUP
NEWCASTLE 0 ARSENAL 4
Krul, Perch, Williamson, Kadar, Ryan Taylor, Routledge (Gutierrez 56), Guthrie, Smith (Barton 71), Vuckic, Lovenkrands (Carroll 57), Ranger.
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Tiote.
CHELSEA 3 NEWCASTLE 4 (Ranger, R Taylor, Ameobi 2)
Krul, Ryan Taylor (Tiote 63), Campbell, Coloccini (Williamson 63), Ferguson (Barton 90), Ranger, Gutierrez, Vuckic, Smith, Ameobi, Lovenkrands.
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Nolan, Carroll, Ben Arfa.
ACCRINGTON STANLEY 2 NEWCASTLE 3 (Ryan Taylor, Ameobi, Lovenkrands)
Krul, Ryan Taylor, Kadar, Tavernier, Ferguson, Ranger, Donaldson, Vuckic (Nolan 90), LuaLua, Ameobi,Lovenkrands.
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Williamson, Barton, Routledge, Perch, Smith.
PRE-SEASON
CARLISLE 0 NEWCASTLE 3 (Best, Ranger, Vuckic)
Harper (Krul 46), Tavernier (R Taylor 46), Coloccini (S Taylor 46) (Henderson 81), Williamson (Perch 46), Enrique (Ferguson 46), Inman (Routledge 46), Smith (Barton 46), Nolan (Guthrie 46), LuaLua (Vuckic 46) , Carroll (Best 46), Lovenkrands (Ranger 46).
NORWICH CITY 2 NEWCASTLE 1 (Ameobi)
Krul, Taylor (Routledge 45), Tavernier, Coloccini (Williamson 45), Diaz (Ferguson 57); Ranger (Xisco 45), Barton (Smith 45), Nolan (Guthrie 45), Vuckic (Edmundsson 72); Best (Lovenkrands 45), Carroll (Ameobi 45).
NEWCASTLE 2 PSV EINDHOVEN 2 (R.Taylor, Best)
Harper, Perch, Enrique, Coloccini, Williamson, Guthrie, Nolan, Smith, Ryan Taylor, Lovenkrands, Ameobi. Subs: Carroll, Xisco, Best, LuaLua, Krul, Vuckic, Ranger, Donaldson, Tavernier.
DEPORTIVO 0 NEWCASTLE 0 (NUFC win 5-4 on penalties - Lovenkrands, Nolan, Carroll, R Taylor, Barton)
Harper (Krul 46); R Taylor, Perch (Tavernier 52), Coloccini, Enrique; Routledge, Barton, Guthrie (Nolan 46), Xisco (Gutierrez 46); Carroll, Best (Lovenkrands 73). Subs (not used): Smith, Ferguson
RANGERS 2 NEWCASTLE 1 (Lovenkrands)
Harper; Perch (Tavernier 81), Coloccini (Ferguson 81), Williamson, Enrique (R Taylor 56); Routledge (Xisco 83), Barton, Nolan, Guthrie, Gutierrez (Lovenkrands 69); Carroll (Ameobi 46).
NEWCASTLE UTD MAD
CONTACT US (Kev): Kevnumad@fsmail.net