Newcastle was in the right spirit in an incredible atmosphere

Posted by: Clarky · May 12, 2009

Gawd, what a knee trembler!! Giving them the lead after 3mins didn’t exactly help either. I feel emotionally drained, relieved and delighted in equal measure, but you know what, that game tonight was a credit to the PL. Two teams under incredible pressure, but totally committed; played in the right spirit in an incredible atmosphere.

Despite the high stakes and the unbelievable tension, it was a great little contest, and a pretty good spectacle. Littered with errors, yes, but that was inevitable given the recent form of both teams and the position they find themselves in.

The committment of the black ‘n whites has frequently been called into question this season – but not tonight. In fact, I couldn’t fault any of the 22 players for their committment to their respective causes.

Despite getting off to the worst possible start, the Boro players seemed the more nervous, and I think the atmosphere may just have affected them a little. We had the best of the 1st half without creating a whole lot, and too often leaving ourselves vulnerable on the break.

Guthrie was our main creative influence via his corners, which were generally excellent – with Taylor thumping one in for the equaliser. He was finding the ideal corner – the one that only just eludes the 1st man.

Peter Lovenkrands was in the right spirit in an incredible atmosphere

As has been the case recently, we started running out of steam around the hour. For a spell then Boro got on top, and things began to look rather ominous. For whatever reason, Jonas stopped playing – either fatigue or possibly an injury – and he and Owen were replaced with Lovenkrands and Martins – and who proved to be the match-winners.

Martins was really lively, and made an immediate impact with the Boro defenders tiring. Lovenkrands ended the contest finishing off a good move with a neat finish.

Obafemi Martins was in the right spirit in an incredible atmosphere

Our much-criticised midfield did really well tonight, all working their socks off for the cause. With Beye and Duff both getting forward whenever possible, we were often at full stretch defensively, particularly on the break, and several last-ditch tackles were needed to prevent a second Boro goal, which would probably have proven terminal. However, Harper was never under any concerted pressure. This was probably just as well as he seemed to me to be particularly nervy tonight.

Jonas Gutierez was in the right spirit in an incredible atmosphere

Viduka was quite superb up front, and showed precisely what we have missed because of his fragile fitness. Owen, I’m afraid was largely anonymous again, apart from one guided header from a Viduka cross that brought a good save. He just looks lost, and rather than simply having ‘lost a yard’ of pace, he now looks utterly pedestrian. He’s a very sad sight actually.

I thought Damien Duff was a revelation at LB. He defended really well, made tackles, and won a surprising number of balls in the air for a midget. He was my MOTM.

Newcastle was in the right spirit in an incredible atmosphere

I was dreading going along tonight, and went fearing the worst. In the event, it turned out to be quite a spectacle; one I’ll remember for quite a while. For once, our heroes didn’t let us down, and thrillingly have created a chink of light. The question is can they take advantage of tonight’s massive effort and make the final breakthrough?

At least they’ve given themselves a chance – and all of us renewed hope.

Tags: Alan Shearer, English Premier League, middlesbrough, Newcastle United

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 6:18 am and is filed under Alan Shearer, Game Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed, or trackback from your own site.