Geordies rise above over-the-top Viduka

English football needed a big, diverting result from here on Saturday.
Thanks to Newcastle United it got one. When Nolberto Solano ran clear in the
last minute to steer the ball into the far corner to make it 3-4, it did not
feel absurd to suggest that the trumpet-playing Peruvian struck a chord
around the country that he can never have hoped would be heard so widely.

Yet for some even that proved insufficient distraction. Afterwards we were
immediately carted back to violence and Leeds United. That is where we, and
Leeds, are now stuck on top of a most unpleasant bandwagon.

It would be great, for football's sake, to get off it, to reclaim the
game. But, even though Newcastle staged a fantastic comeback from 3-1 down
after 56 minutes, the post-match debate was dominated by Mark Viduka's twin
strike on Nikos Dabizas.

Dabizas left on a stretcher just before the interval after Viduka had
caught the Newcastle defender with an over-the-ball tackle which Bobby
Robson described as "mad and violent". Jeff Winter showed the
Australian-Croat a yellow card, a decision Robson considered dereliction of
duty.

Earlier, less obviously, Viduka had caught Dabizas with an arm that
crushed the Greek's nose. When Viduka then twisted Newcastle's other
centre-half, Andy O'Brien, inside out in the process of giving Leeds a 2-1
lead, Robson was contemplating "a villain-to-hero story that would have made
me very bitter".

David O'Leary thought Robson's an overreaction - "Is he still harping on
about it?" - but the issue is sure to make the renewal of activities at St
James' Park in less than three weeks somewhat spicy.

"A very, very bad tackle," said Alan Shearer in a tone of flat menace.
"Very, very nasty," said Dabizas, "two inches lower and he could have
shattered my leg to pieces. He had already broken my nose."

Thus the glorious diversion was interrupted.

Newcastle, it should be said, were not too displeased about that. As they
filed past on the way to the bus there were plenty of smiles and handshakes
but there was also a refusal to become engaged in meaningful title talk.
Newcastle had just won their fourth game in a row, three of which were away
from home, and the last three having been recoveries from deficit, but still
the mantra was "Leeds, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man United are all bigger and
better" - Shearer.

But, understandably excited by their mini-achievement, a couple diverged
slightly from the captain's hymn sheet. "We played like league leaders
today," said Shay Given, a short but telling insight.

Robson was more expansive: "We're not quite a brilliant team yet," he
said, "but we're on the verge of becoming a brilliant team. We are a
talented, fit, forceful team. We have no physical incapabilities, we're
winning at the end of matches. Man United will be the test, that will tell
us more. I just need a bit more confirmation."

Newcastle travel to Old Trafford on January 2. Before that they face
Middlesbrough and Chelsea at St James'. A win and a draw would leave
Newcastle 10 points better off than at the same stage last season. There
will be talk of reinforcements to sustain the push, though in Kieron Dyer
and Gary Speed it seems the Geordies have two new signings.

Speed and Dyer were at the heart of Saturday's triumph. At 32 Speed is
like a man reborn this last month. It was his block tackle in the 38th
minute that set Dyer on his way to creating Craig Bellamy's opener. Dyer
flew past Ian Harte on the way. "I don't know where Kieron gets his energy,"
said Shearer.

The same could be said of Robson. "I'll be 69 in February," said the
Newcastle manager. "I feel 50. I'm on the training pitch every day and I'll
look at myself at the end of next season." With that he should have killed
the Phillippe Troussier-arrives-in-July rumour.

"He's a World Cup player," said Robson, returning to Dyer. "He'll do that
for you at the highest level. In terms of England he's the man. His best
position is right half but he can play anywhere." Robson then revealed that
Dyer's stress fracture was healed only by a graft from Dyer's hip on to the
shin from where the stress had literally been cut out. If only Leeds could
do the same.

When, within 60 seconds of Bellamy's goal, Bowyer had equalised, it seemed
Leeds had done so. After Viduka had scored his marvellous goal followed by
Harte's 20-yard drive, any lingering anxiety about the occasion should have
been erased. Bowyer's comeback would be the story.

Newly confident, however, Newcastle played their way back. O'Brien was
assured in defence, Bellamy was a torment in attack. Speed and Dyer kept
pumping and when Nigel Martyn could only parry a Dyer shot, Robbie
Elliott's diving header made it 3-2.

Eirik Bakke then handled Speed's flick in the area and Shearer whacked in
the penalty. There were still 20 minutes remaining. Leeds had time to regrou
p but the defenders, particularly Danny Mills and Harte, could not find a
colleague with the ball.

Then, with seconds to go, Bellamy bravely won a 50-50 tackle with Bakke -
and received a nasty kick for doing so. Dyer collected the ball and steamed
on. A sliding pass inside Harte left Solano free in the area, Martyn was
slow to come and offered the room in the corner that Solano found.

Newcastle had their ninth goal of the week, their second 4-3 win of the
season and a land of grateful admirers.

Michael Walker
 
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