This is the game that most of the Toon Army have something to fear of about the moral of team and the strength of our defense in particular. Many times I’ve read that our current position in the Premierships table was nothing but a luck, as they said, we haven’t meet the real test before today.

So, now I’m proudly say that we have a good team, with a very good determination and high spirited lads are willing to fight until the end and never surrender. We are capable of chasing the game in any condition, like today we are twice behind but we can responded very well to end the game 2-2 against this year “European” club opponent.

Before the match, I was feared of their pacey wingers and the skill of Van Der Vaart and Modric. I didn’t take credits to their striker, Adebayor is not the same person as he was couple of years ago when still with Arsenal.

Instead of the first goal was coming from his movement, I see it as our own fault who was failed to stop the ball that coming from the midfield. Steven Taylor also failed to anticipate the lose ball and gave enough space for Adebayor to run into our six yard box, and Taylor last try was bringing down Adebayor inside the penalty box.

In the second half we are starting to look for an equaliser, and it doesn’t have to wait longer than 3 minutes. In a nice United attack, the ball was coming to Gutierrez who runs for it and releasing a delightful cross infront of Brad Friedel goal who was passed through Spurs defenders into Ba’s foot who are free in the area to slot the ball and Friedel into the net.

Since that goal we are looking for more but through a counter attack we are once again failed to stop the ball from the midfield, and this time Jermaine Defoe who came in as substitute for Van Der Vaart, can take the adavance to fire in Spurs second.

Alan Pardew then make two substitutions to taking off Demba Ba and Best who surprisingly very quiet today and bringing on Hatem Ben Arfa and … Shola Ameobi. I’m trying to be honest here, to see Ameobi in I was thought that we will finally got beaten.

But, I was totally wrong, and I apologize to Ameobi who is coming in to rescue the point for United, with his superb goal in the 86 minutes. Just 9 minutes before that goal, Pardew also bringing in another player that I was desperately want to see him playing, Davide Santon to replace Danny Simpson.

Spurs have one other chance to get back into the lead but Krul succeeded to block another strike from Defoe. We also have a great opportunity to win this game through our skipper Coloccini who shot the ball wide in the dying minutes.

In general, I was pleased with this result and to see that we are still in good track. Bring in Wigan next week, until then thanks for coming to this site and Howay the Lads!

Newcastle United (4-4-2):
Tim Krul; Danny Simpson (Davide Santon 77), Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini (c), Ryan Taylor; Gabriel Obertan, Yohan Cabaye, Cheik Tiote, Jonas Gutierrez; Leon Best (Shola Ameobi 71), Demba Ba (Hatem Ben Arfa 71)

Subs not used: Rob Elliot, Dan Gosling, Sylvain Marveaux, Peter Lovenkrands

Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2):
Brad Friedel; Kyle Walker, Younes Kaboul, Ledley King (c) (Sebastien Bassong 30), Benoit Assou-Ekotto; Gareth Bale, Jake Livermore, Scott Parker, Luka Modric; Rafael Van Der Vaart (Jermain Defoe 64); Emmanuel Abebayor (Roman Pavlyuchenko 89)

Subs not used: Carlo Cudicini, Danny Rose, Andros Townsend, Giovani Dos Santos

Referee: Lee Probert

Attendance: 46,420

Without Ameobi who has a slight injury, AP recalled Leon Best to partnered with Peter Lovenkrands as United front men. Obertan filled the empty slot on the right wing where used to have Barton to fill in. And from my point of view, he’s done a very good job there and I believe soon he can exceed his successor.

In central midfield, Tiote is return after being off on last Thursday’s Carling Cup fixture. He’s joining force with Yohan Cabaye, who start to look like a fresh Kevin Nolan and he commanding the area quite well, particularly in the second half.

The first 10-20 minutes, it was the visitors who have the control and we are responded very well in defense, with skipper Colo and Taylor both stands tall against the impressive American center forward, Clint Dempsey.

They have couple of good chances through Sidwell and Kasami’s long range shooting, but we also creating some troubles to their defense near the end of first half with Best header and Taylor’s long kick.

Newcastle’s goal came in shortly after the break. Ryan Taylor put a throw in to Cabaye’s position with one Fulham player guard him, but still he can manage to escape and sent a thunderous ball that bounch past Fulham’s goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer into top cross bar before fall to Leon Best who are free to put it into the empty net.

Soon after the goal, we looks like to turn down the tempo a little bit, and the visitors have two good chances to make an equaliser through Sidwell and Murphy’s close range header that both are denied by Tim Krull.

Soon after that, with the introduction of Demba Ba to replaced a relatively quiet Peter Lovenkrands, Newcastle start to dominating again. It was another clever cross from Cabaye to Ba who then sent it to Fulham’s penalty area where Best was there waiting to make it 2-0 for Newcastle.

In the dead end of normal time, Fulham finally got one goal through Dempsey’s long header that beat Krul who was a little bit up too far from his post. In general, I was pleased with the lads performance today. Espeacially to see how Obertan, Cabaye and Ba are start to settle down with their new team.

But still, the Magpies would love to snap a four-game winless streak this weekend at home as they host Birmingham, who is looking to move further away from the relegation zone as well.

Newcastle has a pair of draws and two losses since a 4-1 win at home over Wolves on April 2nd, and they were spanked 3-0 at Liverpool, where they came face to face with striker Andy Carroll, who they sold to Liverpool for a club-record for $57.7 million at the transfer deadline.

They could have used Carroll to boost their faith among those who bet on sports right now, because they’re struggling to find the back of the net, scoring a single goal during this four-game winless skid. Now that Carroll is on Merseyside, Newcastle’s leading scoring is captain Kevin Nolan, who has 12 goals in 30 games from midfield, followed by forward Shola Ameobi, who has eight goals in 20 games, and then Leon Best, who has six goals in 10 games, but he’s gone for the rest of the year with an ankle/foot injury. Then you have another midfielder, Joey Barton, with five goals and a team-leading eight assists in 30 games, and you have what should be Newcastle’s main goal of the offseason.

The Magpies need to go out and find a goal-scorer to replace Carroll (who had 11 goals in 18 games), because you’re not going to be very successful when your main goal threats are your midfielders.

Nolan and Barton are great at supporting strikers from midfield, but they’re still not of the quality of a Frank Lampard, for example. This week’s forward pairing should continue to be Ameobi and Peter Lovenkrandis, which is fine against the likes of Birmingham, and Newcastle has a home game against West Brom to finish the season, so they should escape the season unscathed, but they need to find a striker in the offseason.

We score thanks to Best who was on the right position in teh right time. The goal was come with helps from Everton defenders who was too focus on their right defensive area and that same errors also being gifted to them by Newcastle defenders to make it level.

Everton second goal was a great one and from a clever set piece when Baines curling the ball past the United defensive wall, Jagielka was there and he was a little bit fortunate that his shot the ball into the cross bar before bounches in into Harper’s net.

Newcastle also have to take off Enrique in the half an hour mark and surprisingly, Pardew bring in the man in the mask, Ameobi to replaced him. And he did quite well since he came in, and playing on his usual standard as he often did.

In the second half, we look forward and dominated the game in search for the equaliser. But to speak honestly, there’s a sound inside of me that saying this is not our day and the magic of 4-4 draw against Arsenal will never repeat again.

We all know that Everton was a team which is hard to beat, and without the creator of most of our game in the field, we look a bit uncreative in attack. I really miss Joe Barton today. Steven Taylor who was being adopted into his position was too soft to cover Barton’s role.

I hope in our next game we can see Barton playing again, and all of his absence really because of his injury and was not another Ashley’s plan to sell him to other club.

Until then and thanks for coming to this site. Howay the Lads!!!

We did start the match in much comfortable style than in the last FA Cup third round match, and in just 4 minutes into the first half, Ameobi should have scored for the Toon if he can calm his nerve and steady the ball first rather than make his shot wide of a post.

It was the sign of more under par performance in terms of goal scoring opportunity for the newly adopted Nigerian player. I was thinking of his Geordie status which is now surely gone by chosing to play for the Super Eagle team, and maybe that has cost him a little bit out of the mood to scoring a goal against the mackems too.

For couple of times Ameobi looking like a school boy team player who has very little of creativity up front. Despite he can won the ball up in the air couple of times, and causing Bramble to have a torrid afternoon, he was surprisingly failed to create every opportunity he has to converted into a goal.

His final passing ball was also very poor and it seems he just get the ball away from him without looking at where his team mates are before releasing the ball.

Only one time he did great when he rising high above all mackems defender to meet Barton corner and flicking it on into the danger area and struck Bramble first before Nolan backheeled the ball to give Newcastle a deserved lead.

Without the presence of Andy Carroll, we are once again failed to convert many opportunities to double our lead since then. Leon Best is once again return to his natural form which is need couple of weeks or months before he can start to produce goals again.

During the match, we are totally controlling the midfield with Barton and Nolan command the area expertly. In defence, Coloccini and Williamson are also securing every inch of our side, with Enrique also doing great to charge the ball out.

Strangely, I was a bit of surprise that without Tiote we still can play good defensive role, and it was a good sign after all, we are now can be sure that we still have a team which can do better in controlling the midfield without one of our first team player, but not in front.

It was clear that we still need one or two additional attacking player who can score goals to cover the absence of Andy Carroll in the future. I’m not sure we can depend on any of Best, Ameobi or Ranger to replace Carroll when his out.

Until then, thanks for coming to this site and Howay the Lads!