Main Page

Quick Links
   
Fixtures
   Reports
   Players
   Transfers
   Rumours
   Table
   Stats
   Reserves
   Academy

The Rest
   
Archives
   Club info
   Fanzines
   Last Season
   SJP
   Unlikely Lads
   A-Z Index

 

 

Season 2002-03
Blackburn Rovers (h) Premier Reserve League (North)
 
 
 
Date: Thursday 23rd January 2003, 3.00pm. Rescheduled from previous Monday due to waterlogged pitch, and played in the daytime as the venue hosts athletics training on Thursday nights. 

Venue: Gateshead International Stadium

Conditions: 
Sunshine initially, cold on the hands towards the end as darkness fell.
 

Newcastle United Reserves

1 - 2 Blackburn Reserves
Teams

Goals

27 mins Grabbi 0-1

42 mins Grabbi pen 0-2

Half time: Newcastle Reserves 0  Blackburn 2 

85 mins Gavilan  1-2

Full time: Newcastle Reserves 1  Blackburn 2 

We Said

Tommy Craig said: 

"The consequences of me giving my opinion on the referee would perhaps lead to a fine and I'm not prepared to be suckered into that. The people here can draw their own conclusions from the game.

"We didn't play as well as we can play and have been doing but I thought we could get something from the game.

"Their first goal came from a mistake from Titus and he held his hands up quite readily. 

It was always going to be hard to get back into the game, even more so when we went a man down."
 

They Said

Geordie-born coach Alan Murray said:

"It was a good, resolute performance against a strong Newcastle United side. We put out a fairly young, inexperienced team and they showed great application and determination. I am delighted with the result."

"The opener was a good technical goal, requiring a high degree of skill to deliver. I thought he reacted very well to direct it low, hard and into the right hand corner."

"And the penalty was from a stupid decision by Harper to kick out at Ciaran Donnelly. 

"Our sending off was one of many strange decisions, I don't think he (the ref) was really of the standard required for a game like this," 

"It's great to go back up there and win, I can speak to my relatives now!"

Waffle

It was a miserable afternoon at Gateshead Stadium as the Reserves tumbled to another defeat and Steve Harper was dismissed.

United lined up in a 3-5-2 formation, with Andy Ferrell on the left flank and Bradley Orr filling in right side, recent full back pairing Brennan and Kendrick being away on International duty at present. Brian Kerr once again wore the captain's armband.

After some decent early moves from the Magpies despite a poor playing surface, Rovers took the lead slightly against the run of play on 27 minutes.

A low 20-yard shot from £6.75m Italian misfit Corradi Grabbi deceived Steve Harper and nestled in the bottom right corner of his net. Grabbi had been gifted possession by an awful Bramble slice, and the defender almost left his keeper high and dry again with a similar mis-timed pass.

Three minutes before the break an  unbelievable incident once again saw us end the first half a man short, as the northernmost penalty area of the International Stadium turned into the Twilight Zone. 

As Harper went to kick the ball out of his hands, he was twice impeded by Ciaran Donnelly and looked to have kicked the Rovers man, although he protested strongly that he'd caught Donnelly accidentally in the act of drop-kicking the ball.  

The referee, Nigel Miller, instantly awarded a penalty which Grabbi then converted. Sub keeper Adam Bartlett came on for Andy Ferrell to face the spot kick, but was sent the wrong way.

Harper was distraught as he left the field, but from our spot up in the stand, it looked a harsh but correct decision unless the ref had already blown for the obstruction on Harper - which he hadn't. 

Miller had previously dismissed Steven Taylor in almost the same spot when he reffed our home reserve game with Bradford in October, while his fellow whistler David Richardson also showed a questionable red card against Bernard in November in the same area of the pitch.

So that's three dismissals in only six home games this season, during which we've won only once. And with the pitch looking soft underfoot and cutting up badly it doesn't look good for the rest of our home games, poor conditions underfoot affecting our usual passing style.

Indeed it's becoming more noticeable that our better performances are coming on the road, on good surfaces like those at Chester, Old Trafford and Hyde United. 

It became 10 v 10 after 67 minutes when Blackburn's Michael Taylor got his second yellow card for a nothing challenge on Bradley Orr, who attempted to stop the referee from showing the card. An awful decision.

Diego Gavilan gave us some hope with a volleyed effort after a left wing cross found him unmarked in the box five minutes from time, but it was too little too late.

Plus points? Well, Titus Bramble got another 90 minutes of football under his belt. He looked a bit more mobile than at Hyde last week and came through unscathed, although he picked up a late booking for dissent in added time.

There was an injury scare for Jamie McClen, who fell awkwardly early in the second half after twisting his knee. However he was ok after receiving medical attention on the sidelines, Chester-le-street born Damon Robson filling in for him on the field.

Biffa

Reports 


Page last updated 14 July, 2016