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MIDDLESBROUGH v NEWCASTLE, PREMIER LEAGUE, 9th APRIL 2006
It was Grand National day yesterday and it's Derby day today. Not that this is a real derby match of course... It is Alan Shearer's last ever game at the Riverside though, unless we get Newcastle again in the one of the cups. Oh, wait a minute...
As expected Steve McClaren rested plenty of players for the more important games coming up. Franck Queudrue made the starting lineup and Yakubu started up front on his own in a 4-5-1 formation.
Schwarzer, Queudrue (Taylor 45), Ehiogu, Riggott, Davies (Maccarone 62), Johnson (Viduka 45), Doriva, Boateng, Rochemback, Morrison, Yakubu
Jones, Parnaby
THE FIRST HALF
Boro started as they had finished on Thursday with Yakubu winning a ball from Craig Moore that he had no right to win and James Morrison doing well in getting in from the flanks to create our first chance of the day.
But there was a concern in the third minute when Newcastle broke and Nolberto Solano crossed for Ameobi whose header from the centre of the penalty area was parried by Schwarzer. The ball came back to Ameobi who should have done better with his effort from six yards.
Newcastle were bouyed by the attack and started to get the better of Boro with Shearer and Ameobi winning the majority of the fifty-fifty headers in and around the Boro area, without actually troubling us.
On ten minutes Franck Queudrue was involved in a clash with N'Zogbia and as seems the norm these days, had to leave the field for treatment as blood started to appear on his bandaged head. He was back on after a few minutes though.
The game was starting to settle into a rythym now as Boro looked to have adopted a tactic of containing Newcastle at the back and hitting them on the break. With Morrison's speed as a lever, it almost worked on more than one occasion.
Yakubu was very unlucky not to score on twenty minutes as he collected a brilliant pass from Fabio Rochemback but he couldn't quite get a clean connection on the ball and Given was there to mop up the potential damage. Yakubu landed awkwardly on his face and it took a few minutes to get before he got back into the action.
Yet again, Franck was involved in another clash and started to bleed again but this time he stayed on the field. On twenty-five minutes, Emre committed a disgraceful challenge on George Boateng for which he can consider himself lucky only to be booked. The game was starting to heat up now and composure was required from Boro as Newcastle started to play dirty.
On twenty-eight minutes, George found himself back in defence as Newcastle came forward. Ameobi played a straight cross in towards Bowyer who rose to head it, challenged by George who was most unlucky when the ball deflected off him and past Skippy to give Newcastle the lead.
MIDDLESBROUGH 0 NEWCASTLE 1 (Boateng og 28)
On thirty-three minutes Boro were very lucky not to go further behind when Ugo Ehiogu got away with pulling back Alan Shearer inside the penalty area. Newcastle were starting to get on top of Boro now and certainly had the upper hand after thirty-eight minutes.
But on fourty, Boro won a free-kick just putside the box and the ball was smashed in by Fabio Rochemback. It went wide but it was the signal fro Boro to start going at the opposition as Fabio's power-shot had rattled them.
Boro continued to press with Rochemback starting to take control of the midfield action but we were hit on the counter attack, just as we looked as though we were about to get back in the match. Ameobi broke forward and gave no Skippy no chance as he blasted home into the bottom corner to leave Boro trailing by two goals.
MIDDLESBROUGH 0 NEWCASTLE 2 (Ameobi 43)
Boro had it all to do now and were glad to hear te half-time whistle. A regroup and several changes are most certainly required but as we learnt on Thursday, we should not be giving up at this stage.
FIRST-HALF FAN REACTION
"I hope it snows at half-time"
Mike Read
THE SECOND-HALF
It turns out that brave Franck Queudrue's head injury is actually serious enough for him not to be able to continue and he was replaced at half-time by Andrew Taylor. Boro switched to 4-4-2 with Mark Viduka coming on for Adam Johnson.
Newcastle were clearly the better team in the opening ten minutes of the second-half as they looked to kill off the game. A wave of attacks had Boro reeling and Bowyer was oh so close to a third when he took a free-kick that luckily for us went wide.
Boro picked up the tempo as Mark Viduka finally came into the play and he almost put us back in it when he outwitted Craig Moore in the Newcastle box but he couldn't create anough space for hoimself to get his shot in.
Another clash, this time between Lee Bowyer and Andrew Davies led to Boro's third substitution. Davies looked to be in some pain and needed to be stretchered off with what appeared to be a collar bone or shoulder injury.
On came Hail Massimo in his place and Boro went three up front. Fabio Rochamback picked up a needless booking shortlyl afterward for backchatting the referee. Solano was withdrawn a few minutes later and replaced by Kieron Dyer.
On sixty-seven minutes, Yakubu picked up a scrappy Newcastle pass and burst forward only to be brought down by Elliott. The corner on the egde of the box was deflected out for a corner which came to nothing but Boro were fighting hard to get back into the game now.
Boro should have had a penalty on seventy-one minutes when Craig Moore handled in the box with Viduka breathing down his neck but the referee failed to pick it up and waved play on. No complaints really as Newcastle should have had one in the first half.
Boro were looking as though they were edging closer to a breakthrough and although the play was slightly disjointed and the tempo nowhere near what it was on Thursday night, the hope remained that Boro could still get something out of this.
Mark Viduka really is on fine form at the moment and as Boro went forward again, he got in the way of a Newcastle clearance and chested it down for George Boateng who volleyed it into the back of the net to make it one at each end for him today. Boro were back in it.
MIDDLESBROUGH 1 NEWCASTLE 2 (Boateng 78)
Boro strode forward now in search of an equaliser and spurred on by George's cracking strike, hopes of another recovery were high.
INTO THE RED ZONE
Rochemback won a free-kick outside the box and tested Given to the limit with a stunning strike that looked destined for the net. Newcastle were looking rattled now as Boro took control of the game as we moved into the final minutes.
The tension started to mount as Boro continued to surge forward and were not by far the better team. Bramble fouled Yakubu outside of the box and Rochemback was also brought down by N'Zogbia as Newcastle started to look increasingly desperate.
It was all Boro going into stoppage time and as Boro won a corner in the last minute, even Mark Schwarzer came forward in a last gasp attempt to salvage a draw. It was too little too late though as Newcastle took the local bragging rights and left Boro to console ourselves with a European semi-final and an FA Cup quarter-final replay on Wednesday.
FULL-TIME FAN REACTION
"We'd have won that if we'd played the first seventy-five like we did the last fifteen minutes. But there's bigger fish to fry..."
Mike Read
Final Whistle: 1655 - Report Online: 1659
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