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Match Report 2000-01 - Middlesbrough (a)
Middlesbrough 1 Newcastle United
3
|
Date: 16th October, 2000 8.00pm Venue: Cellnet Riverside Stadium. Conditions: Greasy pitch, sulphuric atmosphere. Crowd: 31,463.
Nearly 3,337 down on capacity. Gaps all over the place, including in the
away section before you strike up with rousing choruses of "Boro
stayed at home, watched it on the telly".... |
Referee: S.Dunn
(Bristol) In charge here in 1997 as well when Sir Les scored the only
goal. Slightly harsh booking of Hughes and bad call by one of his
assistants for the Cordone "goal", but other than that,
unobtrusive.
Teams:
MFC (normal home): Crossley, Fleming (Stamp 45 mins [Marinelli 58 mins]), Gordon, Festa, Pallister, Karembeu, Ince, Mustoe (Deane 75 mins), Boksic, Ricard, Cooper.
Subs Not Used: Beresford, Vickers.
Booked:
Cooper, 50 mins, general nastiness. Karembeu, 86 mins, kicking Lua Lua.
Sent off: None
NUFC (normal home): Given, Domi, Hughes, Goma, Charvet, Lee, Dyer, Solano, Speed, Shearer,
Cordone (Lua-Lua 76 mins).
Subs Not Used: Harper, Marcelino, Bassedas, Gallacher.
Booked: Hughes 68 mins, alleged handball.
Sent off: None
Goals:
38 mins. Solano crosses from the right aiming for Shearer but it's too
long. Speed charges in and beats two Boro defenders to the ball, despite
hitting his shoulder the lay-off to Shearer is perfect. One touch to
steady himself and then bang, past Crossley, beating him with power rather
than placement. 1-0
Halftime: MFC 0 NUFC 1
56 mins. Good spell of pressure ends up with a corner from our left.
Crossley comes, flaps and misses but a Boro head clears it back to
corner-taker Cordone. Before the ball drops, he side-foots it at pace
across the area, where Alain Goma meets it brilliantly to thunder a header
into the left corner of the goal. 2-0
89 mins. Lua Lua had a great run
and shot saved but Boro fail to clear properly. Shearer spots Lua Lua
unmarked in the box and floats the ball to the far post Lua Lua nods it
back to the unmarked Dyer who controls on his thigh before stroking the
ball into the far corner. 3-0
92 mins.
Just 15 seconds left on the clock when Given pushes out a shot from
Marinelli, straight to Deane's feet. He manages to make an indecisive
contact which eventually dribbles over the line. Disappointing end to an
otherwise excellent performance. 3-1
Full time: MFC 1 NUFC 3
Match facts:
Still unbeaten in the Premiership against Boro in nine
matches - won six drawn three. 17 goals for, 8 against.
They said: Captain Lager deigned to speak to the press after
keeping his side locked in the dressing room for an hour:
"I definitely feel that it's a thing about the confidence side
and the self-belief in each individual whichever team I put out. For me,
that's probably my most experienced and solid side that I can play, and
yet I've still got people out there who are not not trying and they're not
not wanting to do well in the game, it's just a matter of maybe not taking
responsibility on the ball.
"When we go away from home, they're doing that and they're getting on
the ball and they're playing and they're passing and they're enjoying the
game. Here, the nerves are getting to them at the moment and we're not
doing the good things at home that we are away from home. But I said to
the players that I thought we were out-played by a better side."
We said: A delighted Uncle Bobby dismissed title claims
fed to him by devious tabloid hacks :
"We won't win it, I don't think we'll
win it - that's Manchester United's or certainly Arsenal. Liverpool's
performance on Sunday will have sent a few shivers and I think Leeds are
coming good with their crop of injuries getting better, and they're
picking up points now.
"I don't think Manchester United will have it all their own way like
they had it much of the way last season. It will be a more fiercely
contested championship.
"But we'll contest it. A year ago, we were bottom, so we've come a
long way in a year. If we finish in the top six, that will be about par
for our course, I think. I would think that would represent a steady
season for us, finishing sixth.
"When I first came, we couldn't win away from home. We hadn't won
away from home for a long, long time. You've got to be a good team to win
away from home in the Premiership, and that's our third victory away from
home this season. That shows how well we've improved and how far we've
come. It was probably our best performance of the season. We were good
down the flanks, strong in midfield, always dominant."
Speaking about Lua Lua, he enthused:
"Once he learns that there's only one ball on the pitch and not one
for him and one for the team, he'll be terrific!
He has to learn how to be a team player, but he
has such spontaneous ideas in his head, he's magic.
We will let him do his party
tricks, we will not take that away from him because he's mesmeric. We have
found a jewel." He's 19 and he's
going to be terrific. Over the years, he'll thrill the Newcastle public,
I'm sure."
Waffle:
Always a pleasure to beat these lot home or away, with an added bonus
of having it beamed across the globe for those unable to brave the
effluent-filled ecosystem of the Teesside area on doctors orders....
Uncle Bobby was right when he called this our best performance of the
season, and the inadequacies of the younger Robson's rabble shouldn't
detract from the quality and coherence of our display.
Apart from the craft and quality of our goals, the match was won in
midfield, where Speed and Lee anchored proceedings to an extent where Dyer
and Solano were able to find more and more space in forward areas and Domi
advanced at will towards the seemingly stage-struck Karmebeu. Maybe he was
unnerved by the large printed image of Mrs Karembeu's bosoms hoisted over
the heads by home fans pre-match, but he certainly deserved his labelling
by one black and white onlooker as the most over-rated French player since
Guivarc'h.
Up front Cordone (or Cardone according to his shirt name for the second
game in succession) was probably the weak link in the team, but still
scored what looked like a legitimate goal, hit the cross of the night and
was unlucky not to set up another goal seconds before being replaced by
Lua Lua. However, while he admittedly provided an outlet on the left, too
often, in the first half especially, his runs were of the blind alley
variety and his first touch crucially failed him.
Mention of the diminutive ball juggler from Zaire via Colchester must be
made with Government health warning - this man will break the spirit of
the opposition on and off the field. Defenders will weep tears of
frustration, while opposition fans trudge home to kick the cat or seek
solace in the ale house. Me ? I worry about what he'll do to Stevie Watson
on Saturday - the geordie boy may be advised to pre-book some trauma
counselling sessions....
Quite simply, in 66 minutes spread over three sub
appearances, this lad has done more to sell those hard-to-shift Milburn
corporate places than a call centre full of dopey marketeers ever could.
His perpetual motion style and dribbling prowess is enough to bring broad
grins to the most cynical of toon fans, and with each touch, shimmy and
jinking run, the memories of duffers like Maric and Brady are
erased.
There must be a nagging doubt that what we're seeing from him is a
once-in-a-lifetime spell of artistry, and that he'll return to playing
like a mere mortal. In which case, make sure you see this lad in the flesh
soon before the magic wears off. Equal parts Tino, Ginola and witchcraft,
the Government will be trying to ban it soon for inducing mass
hysteria.....
Biffa