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Season 2009-10
Swansea City (a) Championship


In association
 with NUFC.com
 

Date: Saturday 13th February 2010, 12.45pm. Live on Sky

Venue: Liberty Stadium

Conditions: 
low-key 

Admission: £30

Programme:
£3
 



  

Swansea City

Newcastle United

1 - 1

 

Teams

Goals

Half time: Swans 0 Magpies 0

56 mins
Pratley's pass was dummied by Dyer for David Cotterill to shoot beyond Steve Harper 0-1

87 mins
Leon Best found space down the United right and stood up a cross to the far post for Andy Carroll to head home powerfully in front of the travelling support 1-1

Full time: Swans 1 Magpies 1

We Said

Newcastle manager Chris Hughton said:

"We're pleased with a point and it could turn out to be a big result for us later in the season. Swansea are a good side and we had to work hard to get something today.

"There’s no doubt we could have played better than we did today, but I thought on the balance of play and the way we approached that last period of the game that we deserved something. I would look at Steve Harper’s contribution in goal – and he wasn't troubled so much.


"And I thought we certainly had the best of the last period. What the last week has shown is something that we have known all along: that it is a tough division and a hard, relentless season.

"Credit to our players, we got braver in the way we pushed. We knew that was going to make it a very open game at the end and you were either going to see us equalising or Swansea scoring a second.
 

"Swansea are a very good side. They’ve taken a dip but they’ve come back strong and I expect them to be up there at the end of the season.”
 

On the Carroll incident:


"My very first impression – and I haven’t seen it again – was that he shouldn’t have been sent off. It was a ball that he had to compete for and it most certainly wasn’t a red card. I can say in all honesty that I wasn’t too worried about it.

"It was a difficult game for Andy and the service could have been better. He put in a shift for the team and he would have been hoping for that one chance. I was delighted for him.

"'With what's gone on, we've seen no change in Andy this week (Carroll was charged with assault on Monday following an incident in a Newcastle nightclub in December). I was happy he was ready to play here. He's too big to put his arm around but, of course, you speak to him about where his game can improve."

They Said

Swans boss Paulo Sousa commented:

"
We are well-organised and tactically and technically perfect, w e enjoy playing all the time and we are getting much better. We were the best side and we deserved much more than we got. 

“We should not be frustrated by the result, we should be proud of the way we played because we were a better side than them. You need to confront all the best sides and I’ve said all along this is the best side in the Championship.

“When we lost 3-0 up there we deserved more as we played well for 55 minutes, but once more we did not have the luck of the game. We lost Leon Britton this morning and Federico Bessone at the beginning of the game, both to injury, but it was still one of our best performances because we played good football. Our football is stronger than ever, it is very mature with great quality.

”I think he
(Carroll) should have been sent off but the referee sees it differently. I’ve seen it on the video and it is an elbow. He came in late for the ball and I think everyone who saw it knows what happened. But the referee has made his decision and what can we do?”

Stats


The Liberty Stadium was our second new domestic ground of the season in competitive matches, following on from our debut visit to Cardiff's new Cardiff City Stadium. We've also played our first senior matches at both Darlington and Huddersfield Town in friendlies, while making our senior competitive debut at Scunthorpe's Glanford Park - a venue we previously visited for a kickabout.

Magpies @ Swans - last ten:

2009/10
drew 1-1 Carroll*
1983/84
won 2-1 Wharton, Mills 
1980/81 lost 0-4
1979/80 won 3-2 Hibbitt, Rafferty, Shoulder
1964/65 lost 1-3 McGarry
1964/65 lost 0-1 (FA Cup)
1963/64 won 1-0 Anderson
1962/63 lost 0-1 
1961/62 lost 2-3 Thomas, Wright
1951/52 won 1-0 Mitchell (FA Cup)

(all games played at the Vetch Field except * at Liberty Stadium)

Full record v Swansea:

  P W D L F A
SJP 14 9 2 3 37 14
VF/LS 14 8 1 5 21 23
League 28 17 3 8 58 37
SJP(FA) 3 2 1 0 7 1
VF 3 2 0 1 3 1
SJP(LC) 0 0 0 0 0 0
VF 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cup 6 4 1 1 10 2
Tot 39 21 4 9 68 39

Andy Carroll scored his ninth goal of the season maintained his record of never having netted in an away win (last season goals at Manchester City and Stoke City, this season at Blackpool, West Brom in the FA Cup and now Swansea).

This was the first goal Swansea have conceded anywhere in 389 minutes and at the Liberty Stadium, that total had reached 512 minutes when big Andy struck.

This was our 30th Championship fixture of the season and 14th live appearance on TV in the UK - 11 on Sky and 3 on the BBC. At least three more games involving NUFC have already been confirmed for live transmission by Sky.

 

Waffle


 

Those travellers who trekked to witness Newcastle's first-ever visit to the Liberty Stadium were greeted by a cast of former Magpie Ivor Allchurch outside (see above) - and a similarly statuesque display from his 2010 contemporaries inside.

For most of this Saturday lunchtime affair played in front of barely 15,000 fans and the TV cameras, United failed to threaten a Swans defence who had posted three clean sheets and not conceded a goal at home in four games.  

The home side had made the most of their few chances, taking a 56th minute lead when Welsh international David Cotterill cut in from the City left to curl his shot beyond the helpless Steve Harper.

However with a second away reverse in five days looming large, substitute Leon Best found space down the right to flick a centre across to the back post, where Andy Carroll converted with a towering header to salvage a draw.

With West Brom otherwise employed in the FA Cup, the point was enough to restore us to top spot in the table - news of a 0-1 defeat for Nottingham Forest at Doncaster later in the afternoon raising spirits further of those who made the long trek (although hardly recompense for those who had to leave on 85 minutes to get the last train....)

Much pre-match hot air had been expelled about repaying the fans for the misfiring display at Pride Park in midweek, but if anything our performance against the Swans was even less cohesive, with City goalkeeper Dorus De Vries a spectator until he picked the ball out of his net late on.         

Games at this venue have been low-scoring affairs and after the defensive slip-ups that contributed to our biggest reverse of the season in midweek, a more safety- first policy was rightly pursued by Chris Hughton. However that fails to excuse a lack of movement and purpose from Newcastle that resulted in a constant stream of misplaced passes and players frequently being caught in possession, as they vainly sought an outlet.

Both sides largely cancelled each other out in the first half, with Harper untested and Kevin Nolan heading well wide when picked out by Coloccini's dinked forward pass. Partnered this time by Peter Lovenkrands, striker Andy Carroll won his share of aerial contests but none of his colleagues were able to link up with him - and when he went for goal himself, a soft header seconds before the break was easily collected by De Vries.

The home side looked to step up their efforts after the break and Nathan Dyer shot just past the post from distance before getting in the way of Darren Pratley, when his colleague was poised to test Harper from 15 yards. Dyer did atone for that error though, starting the move from which Swansea scored as he brought the ball out of defence and then dummying Danny Simpson to allow goalscorer Cotterill space to pick his spot and shoot home.

Neither side then created a real chance for a winner in the remaining moments, although Swansea moaned afterwards that Andy Carroll should have walked moments before his goal for an elbow on defender Garry Monk, for which the Newcastle player was yellow-carded.

From going to the likes of Sheffield United and Preston and "winning ugly", this unattractive draw was no less welcome, ahead of two successive home games against sides who aren't among the division's greatest travellers.

Aside from a first away goal in three league games though, there was precious little to get excited about here - with Guthrie again shoehorned into left midfield, Nolan and Smith trundling back and forth and a collective inability to retain possession. Only one side played football here and to claim that we battled on to the end isn't a reflection of our thoroughly uninspiring afternoon's work.

Final word to match mascot Cameron Evans (an 11 year-old Magpies follower from Neath) who summed things up nicely in his programme profile for the match: "his hobbies are football and Newcastle United." 

Wisdom beyond his years, that lad.

Biffa


Page last updated 23 February, 2017