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Columbus Crew (a) Friendly
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Date: Tuesday 26th July 2011, 7.30pm (local) 00.30 (BST) Venue: Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, USA. Conditions: temperatures more tolerable Admission: $17 and upwards Programme: free single-sided A4 teamsheet |
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Columbus Crew |
Newcastle United |
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0 - 3 |
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| Half time: | 0 - 0 | |
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| Score Sheet: | ||
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Ameobi (9) Coloccini (53) Vuckic (90+1) |
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Teams |
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| Substitutes: | ||
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Smith for Tiote Vuckic for Marveaux Best for Shola Ameobi Abeidfor Gutierrez |
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| Subs not used: | ||
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Forster |
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| Bookings: | ||
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None
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| Dismissals: | ||
Gruenebaum (45) |
None | |
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| Attendance:
As was
the case in our previous two US tour games, the respective n
One (or rather eight) unexpected guests at the stadium (outside) were a set of Clydesdale horses pulling the Budweiser brewery dray, who stopped off after an appearance at the Ohio State Fair. Nice nags, shame about the beer....
Seen in the Stadium: Jinky
Jimmy with an Afro?
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Goals |
9 mins
Shola Ameobi shot 1-0
Half time: Crew 0 Newcastle 1
53 mins
Coloccini shot 2-0
90+2 mins
Vuckic shot 3-0
Full time: Crew 0 Newcastle 3
We Said |
United boss Alan Pardew:
"We have had injuries which I wish I hadn’t have had so far in
pre-season and they have all been impact injuries too. Danny Guthrie, Shane Ferguson and Hatem
were impact injuries but we have to battle on. We have been unlucky. But the
boys are in great shape and we are starting to carve things up for the new
season.
"Joey (Barton) comes back into the frame and Cabaye. It will come together at Leeds.
"The referee, probably knowing that he’d
be criticized heavily if he didn’t send him off, thought that was the correct
decision - I’d prefer he hadn’t. Of course we didn’t want that for (the) Crew. Certainly the
second half was a little bit easier for us.
"Twitter is dangerous. You can say
things when you're emotional, when it's probably not the best time to express
your feelings. I'm all for people expressing themselves - they just have to be
very careful."
Enrique's tweeting then landed him with a club fine, estimated at £100K -
supposedly imposed by a "furious" Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias, with
Pardew over-ruled.
Paul Dummett:
"I had to wait by myself at the airport (in Amsterdam) for a few hours.
It was weird because one minute I was going shopping on a team day out, then the
next thing I know the bus was stopped and I was pulled out and told to pack.
I was buzzing when I heard -it is a long way to go, but worth it to play
for Newcastle United. I slept a lot on the flight, but I am in good condition as
I have played in Holland.”
Haris Vuckic:
"That was for them (the Newcastle fans), they have stuck with us throughout the tour and
travelled everywhere - they were really behind us.
"It was a great feeling for me as it was my first goal of pre-season. I have come close. I can certainly offer the team this if they want it. It gives me confidence to push on again.”
They Said |
“You have fans in the stadium who came to see a good game and came to see the players. It was difficult for us to play the second half and for the fans to enjoy the game.
“It was the referee’s decision, but I
think if he had given a yellow card, everyone would have appreciated that.”
Sub goalie
Chris Konopka:
"I was home on the beach enjoying myself yesterday - I got the call, hopped
on the plane and was ready to play. At least I knew the names of all of the back
four
(after playing for Crew for a week in pre-season). I could put names to
faces."
Stats |
Alan Pardew was as good as his word and gave the three goalkeepers included in his party a start and 90 minutes of pitch time each over the course of the US tour, Harper getting his turn this time and keeping a clean sheet - unlike his younger rivals. Steve's appearance here was appropriate, given that he was the sole survivor of our 2000 friendly here - a half time replacement for Shay Given in 2000, with the score at 1-0 to United. Eleven years ago Bobby Robson's side secured a 2-2 draw against Columbus thanks to a Carl Cort brace - following on from a 1-2 defeat to DC United four nights earlier (Shola Ameobi was at the club but not included in the tour party). However, that draw came at a cost, with then-recent signing Christian Bassedas breaking a bone in his foot, delaying his competitive debut by four months. Reserve left back Paul Dummett, made his first senior appearance, after arriving our reserve tour of Holland. Welsh U21 international Dummett was promoted to the senior party after three of the full backs who set out from England for the USA ended up in the news for various reasons. The loss to Orlando came without Danny Simpson, who had been allowed to return to the UK after the Kansas game to be with his girlfriend at the birth of their bairn. His replacement Ryan Taylor then strained his groin playing on the Citrus Bowl's plastic pitch, which resulted in the first appearance of Jose Enrique - unused in Kansas due to what was termed a hamstring issue. Our wantaway Spaniard then updated his twitter account (in Spanish) to say that: "The Club is letting go of all the main players. Seriously, do you think it's the fault of the players? Andy, etc etc Nolan?" This club will never fight again to be among the top 6 with this policy." "I think you fans are the best and you deserve the best. Not what they are doing with the club. Thanks to everyone for supporting me." And about the "fantastic" deal recently offered to him: "They give the money I have already. They lie all the time. But it's not for money is because they don’t want. They don’t want spend in the club and bring quality players that’s why everybody go." Fellow exit-seeking Magpies malcontent Wayne Routledge then responded to the comments by saying Enrique had "hit the nail on the head". Nowt from wor Joey as yet... Significantly, 19 year-old Dummett was selected from the Dutch squad ahead of the more experienced Tamas Kadar and James Perch - confirming how far they are from Alan Pardew's thoughts unless they didn't also failed to qualify for entry to the USA..... United's last trip to the USA in 2000 brought about similar left back issues, with Didier Domi failing to kick a ball. He flew back early from the tour before retreating to Paris and bellyaching about the club as they prepared for a friendly against....Columbus Crew.
PS: After yet more superhuman running exploits
meant that he was coincidentally passing through Columbus on Tuesday, NUFC season ticket holder Mark Allison was the official
Coin Toss Captain before the Crew v NUFC match (Colo managed to lose that
call by the way....)
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Waffle |
United's
three match tour of the USA ended on a high note with victory against MLS side
Columbus - and no new injuries to add to our already lengthy casualty list.
Without a goal in their previous two outings, the result was never really in
doubt after Shola Ameobi latched on to a poor back pass from Kevin Burns
to draw the home 'keeper and convert with just nine minutes on the clock.
Fielding a much-changed team from the one that beat Portland in the league last
weekend, the Crew briefly stirred into life on 26 minutes when Cole Grossman shot just
wide after good work by Emmanuel Ekpo.
However,
the half ended in controversy when Crew 'keeper Andy Gruenebaum (the man
"between the pipes" as he was billed pre-match) was
red-carded for handling outside the area as Demba Ba took the ball past him.
The decision looked clear-cut, but following the laughable officiating on
Saturday in Orlando the decision of referee Michael Kennedy to brandish his red
card was slightly unexpected - and effectively ended the game as a contest.
MLS floating 'keeper Chris Konopka (on trial with Oxford United just days
ago) had joined just hours earlier on an emergency loan following injuries to
Crew's other two custodians and appeared in place of Emilio Renteria.
Fabricio Coloccini then doubled United's lead in the 53rd minute,
shooting home from ten
yards after a Sylvain Marveaux corner wasn't cleared by the Crew defence - the
goal fittingly announced by the stadium PA in both English and Spanish!
Captain Coloccini
made way for Paul Dummett to make his first senior appearance, slotting in at
centre half after travelling from Holland after his callup from the reserves.
Hardly the most hard-fought of victories then, but a boost for players and fans
alike, more agreeable temperatures and a decent playing surface doubtless
playing a part.
Even before their numerical supremacy, United had looked more comfortable and
pinged the ball around with greater accuracy than in their previous two games -
although their crossing was off-beam and messrs Ameobi and Ba did anything but
complement one another up front.
Mention also to Dan Gosling, who got another game under his belt and showed up
well in midfield - also coming close to adding to the scoreline in the second
half.
Biffa