Liverpool (h) Premiership
| Date: Sunday 26th December 1999, 3.00pm Venue: St. James' Park Conditions: tbc |
|
|
Newcastle |
Liverpool |
|
|
2 - 2 |
|
| Half time: | 1 - 1 | |
| Score Sheet: | ||
(12) Shearer
(67) Ferguson
|
Owen (31) Owen (52) |
|
Teams |
||
|
Harper Barton Hughes Dabizas Pistone Dyer Lee Solano Speed Ferguson Shearer |
Westerveld Gerrard Song Hyypia Matteo Murphy Hamann Carragher Berger Camara Owen |
|
| Substitutes: | ||
|
(52)
Glass for Dyer |
Heggem
for Camara (69) Fowler for Murphy (82) |
|
| Subs not used: | ||
|
Given Marcelino |
Staunton Friedel Traore |
|
| Bookings: | ||
| None | None | |
| Dismissals: | ||
| None | None | |
|
Referee:
David Elleray. By the
laughable standards of referees this season, had a proficient and
incident-free game. |
||
|
Attendance:
36,445 |
||
Goals |
12 mins:
Shearer/Solano - you take your pick, and
wait to see if the Premiership Panel who judge such things agree with you.
Solano took a freekick in front of the Milburn Stand, facing the Leazes
end. One quick flap from Westerveld and it nestled in the back of the goal
- Alan Shearer claiming the merest of touches that TV later
couldn't pick out. 1-0.
31 mins Delayed dispersal of presents to Michael Owen, who managed to
take the ball off a seemingly hypnotised Alessandro Pistone on the byline
and slip a shot past Steve Harper. 1-1.
Half time: Newcastle 1 Liverpool 1
52 mins Beware of
Greeks bearing gifts, as a wayward backpass from Nicos Dabizas was seized upon
by an unattended Michael Owen and gleefully dispatched from 18 yards for the
lead 1-2.
67 mins Man of the Match Warren Barton flighted an angled ball into the
penalty area and Duncan Ferguson managed to scrape his barnet across it,
to direct the ball into the bottom corner of the Gallowgate goal. 2-2.
Full time: Newcastle 2 Liverpool 2
We Said |
Sir Bobby said:
To
follow
They Said |
Gerard
Houllier:
To follow
Stats |
|
|
Waffle |
Ah, Boxing Day, time of irrelevant aftershave wearing, non-existent
public transport and for our favourite team, much wailing and gnashing of
teeth. In the context of this sort of record then, a point at home and goals
scored represents progress of a sort, although in the typically off-kilter
world of this football club, it could so easily have been three. Amongst the interested parties watching was England boss Kevin
Keegan, now no longer a St.James' stayaway, accompanied by his former player
Philippe Albert (the pair also met in up in Albert's home town of Charleroi
some days later, as KK went over to check out the European Championship venue.) Similarly Robert Lee may also have prematurely written off his
chances of a 22nd cap given his run of form since the Dutch bloke slung his
hook. A midfield that doesn't look marvellous in theory seems in practice
somehow to work, with Speed and Lee doing the harrying and Nobby continuing to
create goals at a prolific rate. At the risk of falling into a fawning cup-runneth-over trap of
praising Bobby to the Heavens (as is the current vogue), this game, above most
of the other ones during the Robson Reign (along with Roma) seems to provide
the starkest contrast between him and the previous incumbent.
Not since the halcyon days of the pre-Premiership era had we managed a goal on
this day, and our best return of recent seasons was a bland nil-all draw at
Leeds.
Indeed, a trip back in the toon time machine to 1988 is required for a
top-flight success, when Rob Macdonald and the unwitting knee of Michael
O'Neill gave us a win at Hillsborough.....and of course we barely won another
match and were deservedly relegated. Happy days.
Late pressure on the visitors goal didn't manage to force in a winner, but a
point was fair reward for two costly lapses at the back that allowed Owen to
sustain his personal anti-Geordie scoring vendetta.
Memories of his treble in Rudi's rude 4-1 awakening last season were briefly
prompted by the joyful celebration that followed his second goal, and the
embarrassed faces of the defence, but a more dogged attitude ensured that this
would be no Red walkover.
They would both have been impressed with the performance of Barton, both in
defence and as an attacking force, where his persistence and intermittent
dollops of skill were a threat to the scousers.
In these times of reduced expectations, it isn't beyond the realms of
possibility that ol' Centre Parting could yet add to his small reservoir of
international appearances from the mid 90's.
(The subsequent absence of Lee through injury against West Ham underlined the
loss, as Robson chose the inexperienced talents of Fumaca over the unremarkable
McClen and the midfield suddenly looked porous.)
While I have reservations about some of the players he clearly favours
(principally Fumaca, Marcelino and Gallacher) and cannot fathom his mania for
late substitutions, his ability to inject a sense of team spirit back into this
United side should be held up to younger wannabe managers as a shining
example.
God bless the old bugger.