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Season 2010-11
Everton (h) Premier League



In association with NUFC.com


Date:
Saturday 5th March 2011, 3pm.
 
Venue:
 St. James' Park

Conditions:
Fruitless


   
 

Newcastle United

Everton

1 - 2

Teams

Goals

23 mins A linkup between Jonas Gutierrez and Mike Williamson on the left hand side of the Everton box saw Kevin Nolan try his luck with a shot, Tim Howard parry the ball and Leon Best head in from close range. 1-0

31 mins
Dangerman
Mikel Arteta found acres of space down the Everton left and funnelled a low ball across the edge of the United box for the unmarked and untracked Leon Osman to crack home. 1-1

36 mins
An angled free kick from Leighton Baines on the Toffees left was met by Phil Jagielka's outstretched foot at the Leazes End, Jose Enrique looking to have misplaced his man.1-2

Half time: Newcastle 1 Everton 2

Full time: Newcastle 1 Everton 2

We Said

Alan Pardew said:

"When Enrique got injured it unbalanced us a little bit. But you can’t play a game at this level and lose the quality of players that we have today, Joey Barton today then we lost Ireland, then Enrique on the pitch – we lost him after a period.

"For all the effort and commitment we put in sometimes that’s just too many players to lose. But it was a fantastic effort from the team in terms of the character and the players that were introduced gave absolutely everything without getting anything out of the game.

"I thought that was probably the crucial part of the game, when we took the lead we looked comfortable at that stage and our left side was causing them problems. But we didn’t lock in when we were attacking and got caught twice and then it was going to be an uphill task.

"I think we’ve just genuinely looked at every game as a game that’s winnable for us and we’ll believe that when we go to Stoke. There’s no lack of belief in our camp or any problem that I see today other than the fact that we’ve probably got too many injuries to senior players who are important.

"We weren’t aware that Arteta would play that side and we just felt that (Steven Taylor at right back) would keep us solid and give us a good balance to the team

"So actually when I saw that selection I thought that probably worked well for us with Danny and Steven up against Baines and Arteta, but he caused us problems, he was on his game today, he put in a fantastic performance, Arteta, and it was difficult to contain him. 

"In the end he was still a dominant force and that’s what good players can do to you and I have to say that second half, going up the hill, was a fantastic effort by us and I’m proud of the players for that but that little bit of quality was missing today at times.

"I thought he (Best) was a little bit unlucky with the equaliser that got disallowed, he backed into him, Jagielka, and unfortunately Leon put his hands up – I’ve seen the replay – and he’s hardly touched him and he’s gone down. I don’t think Jagielka would’ve stopped it if he’d defended it properly so perhaps he was being smart there.

"I’m actually buoyed by Fergie’s performance when he came on, he added a little bit to us and perhaps when Enrique came off I perhaps could have brought him on.

"It was only his youth and the fact that he hasn’t got any experience in a game like that which held me back but he’s got talent and he showed that when he came on.

"So I’m genuinely pleased with the squad players who have performed today but at this level and the form we’ve been in you need your best players on the pitch and unfortunately we didn’t have that today.”

Masked Mag Shola Ameobi added:

"With bones, you have to give it a bit of time to settle and start fusing together. So I'm still waiting for that to happen. I went over to America to get a protective mask, which I'm still trying to get used to. It's a bit awkward. It's made of the material they use in bullet-proof glass, some sort of plastic, and it's see-through so aesthetically it's not too bad.

"I remember the last time I did it, to my other cheek seven years ago, and I was out quite a long time because the technology wasn't there to be able to do this. It was very frustrating for me and it has been again, because it's something that I couldn't have avoided. But it's great to be able to halve the time of recovery, get back on the field and help the team finish as high up the table as we can.

"It's great that the club obviously want me back as quickly as possible, but I also have that willingness to play. I wanted to do this as much as the club did. I know I've taken a risk, a 'big risk' because the surgeon has told me if it does go again then he won't operate on it because it would be too dangerous.

"It's very frustrating when you're on the sidelines and I'm never one who wants to sit it out. I always want to get back as quickly as possible. This gave me a chance to do that, so I was up for it and hopefully it will all come good for me.

"On a personal level, it seems as if I'm always getting injured at the wrong time. It's very frustrating, but that's football. You know when you play this game that you are going to have injuries, and unfortunately I've had a few more than most.

"That's the card I've been dealt and I just have to get on with it like I always have, stay positive and come back stronger than ever. That's what I intend to do. Having something on your face that you're not used to is strange, and it's not so much the fact it's there, it's making sure you don't think about it and just get on with it.

"Any little thing that distracts you like that will put you off your game, and it's trying to get over that mental hurdle of knowing it's there and just dealing with it. But I'm sure that will happen."

They Said

Standing in for David Moyes, Everton no. 2 - and former Newcastle coach - Steve Round said:

"It was the response we wanted from midweek, it was a result we needed to bounce back from. The players felt we’d let the supporters and the football club down by not progressing in the cup. 

"But there was a real determination on Saturday to show to true Everton and get a win. This was a big win in terms of bouncing back after midweek. The players were very low in midweek and got the motivation to go and win themselves. We didn’t really have to say anything at all to try and put it right.

"We’ve got a run of fixtures coming up and want to see how many points that gets us. The story of our season has been turning that final pass into the net. You always get the feeling on the bench that you need the third goal because you know what it is like when you come to a place like this. The fans get behind them, they throw the ball in the box and it is always going to be difficult to hang on. We didn’t get the third goal but the pleasing thing was the way we created the chances.”

"Mikel
(Arteta) was outstanding, he was creative, elusive and his work ethic was outstanding. He was only a whisker away from maybe creating two more goals. Mikel is effective wherever he plays, if he’s in that type of form. We made a conscious decision to move him to that side because we felt he’d get more room because of the way Newcastle play, and he did. It was a bonus for us with Joey Barton failing a fitness test because he had even more room down there. He came to the fore today and was outstanding.”

"The only goal is for us to win the next game and see where that takes us. It’s a strange league. Last season we got 61 points and that got us eighth. Sixty-one points this season will get you in the top six, even the top five. The goal really is just to win the next game and see how it goes."

Stats


Leon Best netted his sixth PL goal of the season on his tenth Premier League outing (nine starts)

Toffees in Toon - Premier years:

2010/11 Lost 1-2 Best
2008/09
Drew 0-0
2007/08 Won 3-2 Butt, Emre, Owen
2006/07
Drew 1-1 Ameobi
2005/06
Won 2-0 Solano 2
2004/05
Drew 1-1 Bellamy
2003/04
Won 4-2 Bellamy, Dyer, Shearer 2
2002/03
Drew 3-3 Dyer 2, OG (LC - lost on penalties)
2002/03 Won 2-1 Shearer, Bellamy
2001/02 Won 6-2 Shearer, Cort, O'Brien, Solano 2, Bernard
2000/01 Lost 0-1
1999/00 Drew 1-1 Shearer
1998/99 Lost 1-3 Shearer
1998/99 Won 4-1 Ketsbaia 2, Shearer, Georgiadis (FAC)
1997/98
Won 1-0 Lee
1996/97 Won 4-1 Ferdinand, Lee, Shearer, Elliott
1995/96 Won 1-0 Ferdinand
1994/95 Won 2-0 Fox, Beardsley
1993/94 Won 1-0 Allen

Full record against the Toffees:
 
  P W D L F A
SJP 76 41 18 17 138 76
GP 76 20 15 41 90 145
League 152 61 33 58 228 221
SJP(FA) 1 1 0 0 4 1
GP 4 1 0 3 1 5
SJP(LC) 1 0 1 0 3 3
GP 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cup 6 2 1 3 8 9
CS 1 0 0 1 3 5
Tot 158 63 34 61 236 230

Still no sight of a Saturday 3pm Premier League home win, this game our 14th unsuccessful attempt to do so since a 1-0 victory against Bolton in August 2008.

2008/09: NUFC after 29 games: 29 points, 16th position (scored 35, conceded 46)
2010/11: NUFC after 29 games: 36 points, 9th position (scored 44, conceded 41)

 
 

Waffle


 

 

Leon Best's sixth goal of the season wasn't enough to ensure that United collected maximum points, as they ended a run of three successive home draws by sliding to defeat against the Toffees on Saturday. And rather than reaching for the dizzy heights of the top six, the Magpies were left glancing over their shoulder despite remaining in ninth spot - after results elsewhere made the race to avoid relegation ever more open.

Shola Ameobi made a return to playing action wearing his protective face mask, but neither Joey Barton or Stephen Ireland were included in Alan Pardew's match day 18 and Jose Enrique left the field with a first half injury. Despite naming Danny Guthrie in his squad though, Pardew preferred to push Danny Simpson into the right midfield spot left vacant by the injured Barton and the suspended Ryan Taylor, Steven Taylor return to the starting lineup as one of three central defenders in a 3-5-2 formation.

Without an away league win in their last six attempts and lacking both Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini due to injury, the visitors had shaded the first quarter of the game before Newcastle scored from their first cohesive attack. For the second successive Saturday though, United were unable to retain the lead for long and this time were pegged back within seven minutes, before further deficiencies and confusion in the home backline were highlighted once again just five minutes later, as Everton snatched what proved to be the winner. 

United's sole response before the interval was Mike Williamson's snap shot at the far post that slithered agonisingly wide, but by then though a further reshuffle had been prompted when Jose Enrique limped off.
Simpson was posted to left back as Ameobi appeared to partner Best in a revised 4-4-2 lineup, Taylor at least theoretically filling in at right back. 

Twenty minutes after the restart though - with Harper still the busier of the two goalkeepers - Simpson returned to his usual right back berth, Shane Ferguson coming on to play at left back as Steven Taylor made way. The performance of 19 year-old Northern Ireland international Ferguson was pleasing, capped by one neat forward surge that only ended when he was fouled.

Newcastle were seemingly edging towards a leveller, with Nolan seeing sight of goal in the box but having his shot charged down. Best then had the ball in the back of the net with a powerful header, but increasingly unpopular referee Howard Webb ruled that Jagielka was fouled.

An increasingly niggly encounter had already seen some friction between the two benches, although not on the level of this week's Glaswegian faceoff. And that spread to the field shortly after the arrival of Everton substitute Victor Anichebe, the recipient of an out-of-court settlement from United in recent days for an injury sustained during a game at St.James' Park in 2009.

That had been caused by Kevin Nolan and within ten minutes of Anichebe's first return to Gallowgate, both he and the United captain had been booked after squaring up to each other - although the visiting player looked fortunate to stay on after twice lifting his hands.

Also getting the benefit of the doubt was ex-Magpie defender Sylvain Distin, who attempted to test out Ameobi's new facial protection with a meaty elbow. Louis Saha meanwhile missed several good opportunities to find the net against his former club, including one late chance from close in to finish it.

By that point the home side were throwing everything forward, with Shefki Kuqi on in place of Best (Nile Ranger wasn't on the bench) and Williamson staying upfield. Having perhaps used up our luck against Arsenal though, no breakthrough came despite a steady stream of crosses from the left from Gutierrez - who was clearly limping after a heavy challenge, but stayed on with all three substitutes used.

By the end Newcastle looked bone weary and lacking any sort of creative spark or inspiration - Lovenkrands forced to stay on for the full game but very much a spent force. Fixture list vagaries now mean we don't play for a fortnight and then have another two week break. Given our fitness issues though, for once that looks opportune, giving opportunities to regroup before the last lap.

Biffa 


Page last updated 05 March, 2019