Newcastle 2-2 Tottenham - Match Report
After an unbelievably boring first half, this match between Newcastle and Tottenham came alive in the second half and ended 2-2.
After an unbelievably boring first half, this match between Newcastle and Tottenham came alive and ended 2-2. Neither side deserved to lose the game, and thanks to goals from Rafael van der Vaart, Demba Ba, Jermaine Defoe and Shola Ameobi they didnt. Newcastle went behind twice to a penalty in the first half and a fantastic Defoe finish in the second, but had the determination to peg their opponents back both times. The second of the days North London v Northeast England games took place at St. James Park as Newcastle United entertained Tottenham Hotspur. It had all the ingredients of a cracker both teams have a reputation for entertaining, attacking football, and were among the most in-form teams in the country. Alan Pardews Newcastle started the day in 4th place, whereas Harry Redknapps Spurs sat in 6th. Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye both shook off injuries picked up on international duty, and unsurprisingly went straight into the starting eleven. It was a 4-4-2 formation with Leon Best partnering Ba and Gabriel Obertan and Jonas Gutierrez on the flanks. The Magpies have undergone a defensive revolution under Pardew - conceding just 4 goals at the start of the day perhaps it wouldnt be such an open affair after all. Vedran Corluka, Aaron Lennon and Niko Kranjcar were ruled out but it was hardly a weakened side that took to the field. Emmanuel Adebayor started despite a niggling hamstring injury; he was supported by Rafael van der Vaart in a 4-4-1-1 formation. With no Lennon Luka Modric switched to the right wing and Jake Livermore partnered Scott Parker in the middle. The opening ten minutes were surprisingly rather slow. It was going to take a lot for Spurs to break down the Newcastle defence. Redknapps side have won their last two away fixtures but was Adebayor really fit enough to lead the Spurs attacking line? The game had been relegated from quiet to dull. Two comfortable claims for Tim Krul aside very little had happened. VERY little. 20 minutes in and no real efforts on goal. Gareth Bale seemed to be limping a little thanks to a hard but fair challenge from Cheick Tiote in the opening few minutes. Ledley King went off injured a sad but oh-so inevitable sight, just as Spurs fans were starting to get used to him being a regular defensive presence. He was replaced by Sebastien Bassong, if Newcastles toothless attack so far was anything to go by though it wasnt going to matter too much. This one had stalemate written all over it. A SHOT! Yohan Cabaye hit it from 30 yards out as he was going down. It flew over by some distance and ended up in the stands. A dismal effort, but an effort nonetheless the admission price didnt look quite so costly now for the Toon Army! Not that many know how pricey their tickets are because out of 104 surveyed teams in England, Scotland and Wales, Newcastle were the only club who chose not to disclose their match day prices. But that interesting nugget of information aside Tottenham were awarded a penalty. Literally the first event of note thus far, Adebayor surged forward before going down under a clumsy Steven Taylor challenge inside the area. Lee Probert gave it some thought before pointing to the spot and Rafael van der Vaart stepped up to tuck it into the right hand corner of the net, sending Tim Krul the wrong way in the process. 1-0 to the visitors. And thats how the two sides went in at half time a complete non event of a game, serving everyone right for talking the game up (including me). Not too much to address for either manager though, Alan Pardew just needed to instil some attacking confidence in his side. Obertan had looked lively at times but there was no end product for the Magpies so far. HALF TIME No changes for either side. Newcastle had a number of useful attacking threats in the ranks to get them out of the first half mire. Hatem Ben Arfa could certainly make a difference but so could the promising youngster Sylvain Marveaux or Peter Lovenkrands with his devastating pace. Shola Ameobi was also available. That didnt matter though as Newcastle levelled it in the 48th minute - just what Alan Pardew would have wanted. It wasnt the prettiest of finishes the gangly Jonas Gutierrez attacked down the left, beating Kyle Walker before swinging in the perfect cross. Demba Ba connected with it it went straight into the arms of Brad Friedel but his momentum took him over the line. 5 goals in 3 appearances for Demba Ba. The game had livened up considerably. Adebayor hit a shot from a tight angle through the legs of Steven Taylor but it whistled past the right post. Tim Krul was left stranded. Obertan was next to fire away an effort, from just outside the corner of the box he drilled a shot across goal but it fizzed wide. Luka Modric took advantage of a terrible decision by the linesman to attack down the wing. Ryan Taylor was left to remonstrate with the official who had somehow failed to see the ball go out of play despite being a metre away at most. The diminutive Croatian sped away before squaring to van der Vaart but he couldnt direct it away from Krul. Touchline technology anyone? Scott Parker almost found newly introduced Jermaine Defoe with a terrific ball - the striker was almost through but Krul charged out to clear it. Not to be deterred though he scored moments later. Turning Ryan Taylor with the outside of his right foot, he tucked it into the bottom corner with his left from just inside the area a fantastic finish; hed only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes. Defoe was looking lively he was offside but the hapless linesman got it wrong again so the striker was able to latch on to a long ball from Younes Kaboul. Luckily for the Magpies he was forced too far wide though, he managed to get a shot away from the tight angle but it was straight into the side netting. Scott Parker was booked for what looked like a fair challenge on Cheik Tiote annoying for the midfielder, but probably not as annoying as the smug look on Proberts face as he reached for the yellow card. Newcastle could do nothing with the resulting free kick though. Tiote joined Parker in the book for a much worse incident when he completely missed the ball, opting to kick Modric instead. Kyle Walker tried a looping volley from around 40 yards out but it flew harmlessly over the bar. Tiote was next to try the spectacular, Newcastle strung together a good move thanks to some strength and quick thinking from Shola Ameobi, it was laid across to the Ivorian midfielder who rifled in a shot from around 25 yards, it ended up just over. Ryan Taylor, possibly inspired by Robin van Persie and Seb Larssons efforts at the Emirates (or just a good set piece taker in his own right) tested Brad Friedel from a free kick on the corner of the 18 yard box. The veteran keeper was equal to it though, managing to palm it out it was destined for the corner. Benoit Assou-Ekotto may get a fair amount of stick but he was flawless in todays game, cutting out anything that came his way. Speaking of players who get their fair share of stick, Shola Ameobi levelled the scores in the 85th minute. He looked to have taken it too far wide but managed to send it flying into the opposite corner with his weaker foot. A terrific finish from the striker, and an important goal for the Magpies. It could have been all in vain though minutes later, were it not for the heroics of Newcastle keeper Tim Krul. Adebayor poked it through to Defoe before whose first effort was cut out by a great challenge by Steven Taylor. It bounced back to him though and he shot for goal from point blank range, but Kruls reflexes came in handy again and he got himself behind the ball. Even then it wasnt over though as Taylors headed clearance seemed to be goalbound, but the keeper was there again to pluck it from the skies. Newcastle then should have scored a free kick bounced around in the area for a bit before Fabricio Coloccini somehow missed the target from close range. He did strike it on the turn but it was an easy chance nonetheless. The game ended Tottenhams four game winning streak but both sides deserved something from the game as it was quite a display if you dont take the opening 45 minutes into account. Referee: Lee Probert Newcastle United(4-4-2): Krul, Simpson (Santon, 77), S. Taylor, Coloccini, R. Taylor, Obertan, Tiote, Cabaye, Gutierrez, Ba (Ben Arfa, 71), Best (Ameobi, 71) Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-1-1): Friedel, Walker, Kaboul, King (Bassong, 30), Assou-Ekotto, Bale, Parker, Livermore, Modric, van der Vaart (Defoe, 64), Adebayor (Roman Pavlyuchenko, 89)