I'll tell you what, couldn't see that coming at half time. As disjointed and dispirited performance i'd seen all season. We lost every 2nd ball, seemed laboured and short of desire.
Second half a complete turnaround. Wind must of made a bigger difference than we realised. Rommedahl gave us better balance on the right, and with Zhi in the pocket, they didn't really know whether a midfielder should drop off or a centre half push on.
Soon as the goal went in there was only going to be one winner, Newcastle heads dropped and they didn't really want to know.
That was a big, big win that, with several key people either missing or not right.
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For what it's worth, my ratings:
Carson 7 : only tested a couple of times, great save in injury time
Young 7 : good steady game from Luke, is playing well at the moment & is a better player when not having to think about captaincy
HH 6: his legs have gone & he had a poor first half but strength & desire in abundance, Thatcher is better at LB by a mile though
Diawara 9 : my MOM a fantastic performance, strong, alert, quick turning into a good Premier standard CB
El Kak 6 : solid but still gives me the jitters every time he tries to play the ball out, good effort though
Thomas 8: thought he had a really good game, teased Solano all day long & held the ball up really well at times
Holland 7: 11 out of 10 for effort, he has been totally instrumental in 11 points from 21 in the last 7 games
Song 6: looked a bit lazy in the first half, maybe carrying a knock - we need him back at his best
ZZ 8 : superb in the 2nd, a bit lost in the first - i think his role is in the hole behind DB
DB 7 : good game from Dazza, great free kick & a menace to the newcastle defence all game
MB 6 : didn't do anything of note in the first 45
Faye 7 : no ability on the ball but was energetic & won a few key tackles, took Parker out beautifully late in the 2nd
Romm 8 : scintillating run & worked his socks off, good effort
Lisbo 6 : not much to do in the short time he was on
Newcastle 4: probably the worst side we will face in the run in, no effort, no desire* & no finish - their fans deserve better
Parker 7 : seemed to be everywhere, 100% effort but nothing going forward which was a big part of his game with us - wasted as a purely defensive mid
Yep, playing wide right as he did in the first half, ie out of position, does not suit him.
Thought Luke Young was very assured today, Rommedahl was excellent when he came on, Benty led the line well.
It struck me at the end of the game that Lisbie was leading the line - OMG!!!
Hales Banner looked awesome!
Wonder who he could have been talking about...?!
Thought Newcastle started well, and Martins should have scored early in the second half, but from then on we looked pretty good.
Good move to bring Rommedahl on, as he was able to put a bit more pressure on that renowned left-back, Damien Duff.
Fingers crossed on the fitness of both Bents, and that Song also recovers in time for Wigan.
Win that one and we'll be three points behind them - and hopefully less behind Sheff Utd - and then things will look interesting.
I thought Faye did OK and TEK was strong. One of Luke's Best game for a while as well. Matt Holland was neck and neck with ZZ for MOTM but I'd give it THAT FUCKING BIG FLAG. WE NEVER LOSE WITH THE FLAG.
Newcastle were strange. Solono and Duff as full backs, kicking people up in the air, one shot on target in extra time, and the most silent away fans since, well, us I guess. Did they make any noise 2nd half.
Oh and for those just about watch MOTD2- Given's save, from where i sat (RowG behind the goal) was stunning!
sorry AFKA but you are having a larf. Try to remember Reading away, Boro away, Wycombe at home etc etc. Yeah we wern't great but everyone was trying and we were not dispirited. Disjointed yes but that is down in part to Newcastle's system and Pards decision to play two injured strikers which backfired bigtime.
Oakster didn't Lisbie feed Zhi for the pen, surely worth a good mark, credit where its due..
;)
After weathering the early second half storm and Martins miss, we looked stronger and stronger. It was a case of who scored first.
What I liked was that we could absorb the loss of Song and Big Bent and yet play our best football.
I thought that Faye was excellent. Not as skillful as Song but he work rate was back to the level of when he first played for us.
Romm really impressed me with his effort. We all know he has the skill but his effort is more often than not found wanting. Not today though.
Luke was excellent as was Borat who seemed to be on the same wavelength as Diawara who put in his best performance for us by far.
Herm and Thom both put in decent performances and Matt Holland continues to impress with his energy and enthusiasm.
Darren was unlucky not to score but also missed a howler. (Just think how Lisbie would have been slated if he had missed that chance on the edge of the 6 yard box).
For me the man of the match was ZZ. He worked tirelessly in the first half but playing up alongside Darren, he was a real revelation. Frankly I think we solved our second striker problem.
Slightly worrying are the accumulating injuries. Song presumably had some kind of strain and Marcus always seems to pick up a knock. Hopefully Thatcher and Ambrose will soon be back.
Totally agree. He has that wirey toughness which makes him a difficult opponent and his touch and intelligent running off the ball was also excellent. Great to see the desire. Matched by every player today including Romm and Faye. What a difference from the Wycombe game.
We need players who are young and hungry with a point to prove and real fire in their belly and that is why ZZ and Bougherra really fit the bill perfectly.