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Season 2006-07
Middlesbrough (h) Premiership
 

  
NUFC.com in association with


Marco's predictive powers waned 
after a pair of winners - Dyer coming
 nowhere near to opening the scoring. 
There again, neither did anyone else...
 

Date: Saturday 3rd March 2007, 3pm 

Venue: St. James' Park

Conditions: Sunny
 

 
 

  

Newcastle United

Middlesbrough

0 - 0

Teams

Goals

Half time: Newcastle 0 Smoggies 0

Full time: Newcastle 0 Smoggies 0

We Said

Glenn Roeder said:

"Whenever we play at home and we only draw, it is two points dropped whether we are playing Middlesbrough or anybody else.

"The expectation here, Newcastle at St James' Park, we are expected to win.

"It is disappointing that we have not scored to win the game. It is very rare to see a 0-0 at St James' Park over the last few seasons.

"We had chances - we did not have lots of chances, but give credit where it is due, Middlesbrough set up defensively very well.

"But we had the chances that were on offer and unfortunately they did not go in.

"The goalkeeper made a great save from Scott Parker late on when we could have pinched it, but it was not to be.

"As much as I do not like saying this, sometimes you have to accept what you are given.

"Over the last few seasons Newcastle have often gone and lost that type of game 1-0, and yet when you analyse it, we were never in danger of losing the game.

"It was a little bit sloppy at times, the final pass when we got into good positions.

"Even allowing for that, we could have quite easily edged it, but we did not and sometimes, as much as you do not like to, you have to accept a point when you want three.

"We took four points from them last year. We outplayed them at the Riverside earlier this season and lost 1-0. That's football.

"I know which club is bigger - and always has been and always will be."

They Said

Gareth Southgate simpered:

"We came here to try to win. As the game panned out, it was quite tight.

"We had to defend well, which we did as a team. The goalkeeper and the back four were excellent.

"At the end of what has been a tough week for us, the lads gave absolutely everything.

"I did not need to get them up for the game, they were very up for it anyway.

"It was just a case of would they have the energy to see it through. But especially in the last 10 minutes, they showed the resilience and the awareness to get the clean sheet.

"What impressed me with Mark Schwarzer was he was not called upon for much of the game, but then he pulled off a couple of outstanding saves right near the end.

"But I would not want to single anybody out because collectively, they did everything they possibly could, they gave absolutely everything.

"We were not at our sharpest, but I expected that after what had happened in midweek.

"I thought the opportunity was there to exploit them at the back, but on the day, we perhaps did not quite have the energy and the legs to do it.

"But I still thought we looked like causing them problems on the break, but it was not to be, we had to settle for the point.

"But it keeps our momentum going, it is just one defeat in 14 and to get a clean sheet away from home again is showing an improvement in our resilience.

"We came here to try and win the game, we set the team out to do that. The longer the game wore on I thought we would have to scrap it out and it was a scrappy game.

"There were not too many clear-cut chances and I thought we might have caused a few more problems on the break as I thought they looked edgy at the back, but after the week we have had I was delighted with the effort and commitment and a clean sheet away from home is always pleasing.

"We are looking a decent side. There is a lot to work on, but we have shown bags of improvement.

"We want to keep climbing the table and to come here and get a point was important for us and for our fans. We have taken four points off Newcastle this year and our fans will be pleased with that".

Stats


Smog on the Tyne - Premiership:

2006/07: Drew 0-0
2005/06: Drew 2-2 Solano, Clark
2004/05:
Drew 0-0
2003/04:
Won 2-1 Bellamy, Shearer
2002/03:
Won 2-0 Ameobi, S.Caldwell
2001/02:
Won 3-0 Speed, Shearer, Bernard
2000/01:
Lost 1-2 Cort
1999/00: Won 2-1 Shearer 2
1998/99: Drew 1-1 Shearer
1996/97: Won 3-1 Beardsley 2, Lee
1995/96: Won 1-0 Ferdinand

First Premiership clean sheet in 15 attempts, since the 1-0 win over Pompey here in November.

Waffle

That this meeting of two sides both bossed by former defenders ended goalless doubtless afforded Roeder and Southgate satisfaction at some sort of mission accomplished. 

And in the absence of anything more tangible to discuss post-match, a brief bout of "my club's bigger than your club" rhetoric surfaced - just about the nearest thing to passion on show today.  

This was the third consecutive draw on Tyneside between these two sides and while last season's 2-2 was entertaining in a pantomime-like manner (with Souness as the villain), today was only a marginal improvement on the scoreless stalemate here in April 2005.

On that occasion at least we had the excuse of having just dragged our carcasses to Lisbon, Cardiff, Norwich and Manchester in an ultimately fruitless pursuit of success on three fronts.

No such pretext today though, United having had a free week to prepare for this.   

The visitors meanwhile could be partially exonerated, after continuing their interminable progress towards the FA Cup Final in midweek with yet another extra time penalty shootout. 

If they continue at their present lick, they'll meet the Olympic Marathon runners on the North Circular en route to Wembley.....

Such was the absence of malice or aggreession in the opening half that it would have come as no great shock had both sides sent word from their dressing rooms that they couldn't really be bothered to drag themselves back out for another 45 minutes.

This really was the antithesis of a passionate local derby - a drab, mid-table encounter of the type we used to endure our non-superstar Second Division days. 

In a week when Premiership ticket pricing is again a hot topic, a recording of this game should be labelled "Exhibit A" in the case for reductions at the forthcoming enquiry.

For our part, this was merely a continuation of the below-par showing that was the second half of last Sunday's matinee showing at the JJB.

And including the sterile home win over Waregem, that makes it a hat trick of fixtures in which we've encountered unadventurous, medicore sides.  

Having been given the freedom of the pitch on each occasion though, Roeder's side have struggled to establish a good tempo or rhythmic pattern to their play and totally squandered the chance offered to seize the initiative. 

There's a technical term for this: tappy-lappy. 

Too often we fail to find any space on the field (due to a lack of movement or vision to spot that movement) and instead revert to ever-decreasing circles, brainless passes and ultimately the aimless lump upfield to players who aren't playing....

Having Butt and Parker together seemingly encourages that process, while Milner and Dyer have simultaneously encountered a dropping off in form. 

With N'Zogbia feeling his way back to fitness and form, Emre still absent and Duff missing with the "virus" that sidelined Dyer last weekend, there were thin pickings in the creativity stakes.

And bereft of imagination we're also lacking in variation, with our forays down the flanks bearing little fruit in terms of decent service or crosses. Precisely what Martins is meant to do with the service provided to him and a lack of support up front is a moot point.    

Sibierski was allowed a whole twelve minutes to try and turn this one around, and failed - not being a miracle worker.

The most interesting thing about the Frenchman on Saturday proved to be a newspaper interview in which he revealed some "odd couple" style japes with Obafemi when the pair get together.

But while their comedy routine may entertain the punters in local eateries, their on-field relationship was rather less entertaining.

Arca was mocked for his mackem service, Woodgate by contrast was largely ignored by the home crowd as he got on with his work quietly and without fuss - only Given looking marginally less flustered than the former Magpie on his first return to SJP. 

Glossing over the display of Taylor at left back that was inexplicably praised and giving some credit to Nobby for some blocks on Downing that owed everything to experience, we arrive at the central pair.

Well they must have done something right, because two of the Premiership's in-form forwards failed to add to their tally. However while Bramble had a decidedly mixed afternoon, Onyewu showed some disturbingly Boumsong-like tendencies, especially with the ball at this feet.

The American does have two advantages over Boum though - he didn't cost a fortune and he can at least head the ball. 

In fairness it's hardly ideal playing a different defence every game and the former Standard Leige player is trying to adapt to an alien league when he's forced to sit out almost every other game.   


The sponsor's Man of the Match went to Parker for his missed shot and late saved header, but it might as well have been given to the man who marked out the lines for all the value the trinket is.

A clean sheet on Thursday would be a decent launching point to success in Europe, but AZ will doubtless make a more positive contribution to proceedings than the smoggies - which doesn't bode particularly well, given our recent downturn.

The suspicion is that we have to raise our game against a confident in-form outfit if we're to progress beyond this point.  High time then for a few people to justify their reputations and 
salaries and step up out of the comfort zone. 

We're looking for inspiration, heroes and some big (and little) lads to get stuck in like their lives depend on it. 

Two routes into Europe next season currently remain open to us, but many more games like this and the only thing we'll have to look forward too after Easter is a trip down the A19 next season to a proper derby match - not this tepid facsimile.

Biffa

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Page last updated 15 February, 2019