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Newcastle United 1 - 0 Man United - 11/02/18 - Post-match jubilation from pg22


Dave

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Watched the match in Shark Club bar opposite SJP. At the FT whistle this random bloke and I embraced (:lol:) and this manc chap in his 20's walked past and muttered 'well done, yer won yer cup final' and walked on, the fucking bitter cunt.

 

As a vocal support/numbers Man Utd are second to none away from home (and so they fucking should be with all that success) but fuck me they're a bunch of cunts.

I thought they were pretty quite and subdued yesterday compared to normal, probably because they weren't hammering us!

 

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Watched the match in Shark Club bar opposite SJP. At the FT whistle this random bloke and I embraced (:lol:) and this manc chap in his 20's walked past and muttered 'well done, yer won yer cup final' and walked on, the fucking bitter cunt.

 

As a vocal support/numbers Man Utd are second to none away from home (and so they fucking should be with all that success) but fuck me they're a bunch of cunts.

I thought they were pretty quite and subdued yesterday compared to normal, probably because they weren't hammering us!

 

Aye, not at their best yesterday like - but still one of the best we’ve had up here all season.

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Watched the match in Shark Club bar opposite SJP. At the FT whistle this random bloke and I embraced (:lol:) and this manc chap in his 20's walked past and muttered 'well done, yer won yer cup final' and walked on, the fucking bitter cunt.

 

As a vocal support/numbers Man Utd are second to none away from home (and so they fucking should be with all that success) but fuck me they're a bunch of cunts.

Fucking sick of them saying it was our cup final as though we reacted to that win as though it was a random game in the middle of the season against them with nothing riding on it. That win got us out of the relegation zone and gives us a good platform to gain safety, of course we will cheer it. Amazing how in one sentence they can call us deleuded and in the next have a go at us for acknowledging our poor position. You know what, even if it was a random game against them in the middle of the season with nothing riding on it and we reacted like that, so fuck, atleast we cheer and support our team. How many of them would do the same in our position? Just look at how many want another new manager because they haven’t won the league again.
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Watched the match in Shark Club bar opposite SJP. At the FT whistle this random bloke and I embraced (:lol:) and this manc chap in his 20's walked past and muttered 'well done, yer won yer cup final' and walked on, the f***ing bitter c***.

 

As a vocal support/numbers Man Utd are second to none away from home (and so they f***ing should be with all that success) but f*** me they're a bunch of c***s.

 

They weren't vocal at all yesterday and quite a lot of them disappeared well before the end.

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Landed at Newcastle at 13:40 from Turin, left wor lass at the carousel to pick up bags, skis and boots, whilst I rushed to the taxi rank to get to St James'. Got to my seat 1 minute before kick off.

 

Magnificent atmosphere, performance and result.

 

It's days like these that make it, almost, all worthwhile.

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Landed at Newcastle at 13:40 from Turin, left wor lass at the carousel to pick up bags, skis and boots, whilst I rushed to the taxi rank to get to St James'. Got to my seat 1 minute before kick off.

 

Magnificent atmosphere, performance and result.

 

It's days like these that make it, almost, all worthwhile.

:thup: nice one!

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Watched the match in Shark Club bar opposite SJP. At the FT whistle this random bloke and I embraced (:lol:) and this manc chap in his 20's walked past and muttered 'well done, yer won yer cup final' and walked on, the f***ing bitter c***.

 

As a vocal support/numbers Man Utd are second to none away from home (and so they f***ing should be with all that success) but f*** me they're a bunch of c***s.

 

They weren't vocal at all yesterday and quite a lot of them disappeared well before the end.

Yip. Sitting in the family section you hear the away fans quite well and as usual they were quite loud but no support to their team, it was all about Shearer and not one song after we took the lead.
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Of course it was - kicking an opponent in the face is only dangerous play if you’re not Newcastle.

 

f***ing refs union. They very rarely say the ref got it wrong, regardless of how blatant it is.

I'm guessing he said he can understand why the ref yesterday didn't award us that stonewall penalty?

 

He has a strange view on the pen. Says it's a penalty but it's okay because the ref wasn't sure if it was in the box and 'forgot' about whether it was a foul or not.

 

The simple answer is yes. He didn't play the ball, and as I've said many times, it's all about the ball. I actually think that because where Craig is, I believe he may be assessing whether it happened inside the area or not, and because of that he loses sight of whether it is actually a foul. He completely forgets, I think.

 

He was so focussed on whether it was inside the box or outside that he forgot why it mattered.

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Of course it was - kicking an opponent in the face is only dangerous play if you’re not Newcastle.

 

f***ing refs union. They very rarely say the ref got it wrong, regardless of how blatant it is.

I'm guessing he said he can understand why the ref yesterday didn't award us that stonewall penalty?

 

He has a strange view on the pen. Says it's a penalty but it's okay because the ref wasn't sure if it was in the box and 'forgot' about whether it was a foul or not.

 

The simple answer is yes. He didn't play the ball, and as I've said many times, it's all about the ball. I actually think that because where Craig is, I believe he may be assessing whether it happened inside the area or not, and because of that he loses sight of whether it is actually a foul. He completely forgets, I think.

 

He was so focussed on whether it was inside the box or outside that he forgot why it mattered.

 

Like when poor Keith Stroud forgot Burton shouldn't have had a free kick from our penalty.

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And sometimes it all just works - and reminds you just why you do this to yourself.

 

Matt Ritchie chose the perfect moment to net his first of the season, sending St. James' Park into ecstasy and ultimately handing Rafa Benitez his biggest win as manager of Newcastle United.

 

The Magpies winger has struggled to make an impact recently and as designated penalty taker had the ill-fortune not to be on the field when a rare spot kick came our way in the last home game.

 

He found himself in exactly the right place today though, striking a moving ball twelve yards away from goal to prompt wild celebrations on and off the field.

 

25 second half minutes remained when Ritchie applied the finishing touch to a move involving Jonjo Shelvey, Florian Lejeune and Dwight Gayle. A quartet of players who for various reasons haven't given full value so far this season finally came good when it mattered.

 

And oh, did it matter.

 

This was a day to live long in the memory; a glorious evocation of times past. Seven successive failures to win here since October. Penalty misses, late equalisers, own goals, all forgotten at the wave of a foot and the smack of a boot.

 

Moments of pleasure: the sheer delight of the ball hitting the net, a similar celebratory release of emotion when the final attack was snuffed out, the spine-tingling cheer at the final whistle or the post-match euphoria across the city and beyond. All precious, all wonderful. 

 

Add in a clutch of brilliant performances across the field plus the most memorable of goalkeeping debuts, and you have all the ingredients of a classic, unexpected result. So contrary, so NUFC. 

 

The players - and manager - deservedly milked the applause after full time, as reluctant to leave the field as celebrating fans were to abandon their places in the stands.

 

Today, somebody fell in love with Newcastle United. Those of us already condemned to a lifetime of unrequited adoration meanwhile received a much-needed boost. It's not all for nothing. Not quite.

 

We'd reflected after the point at Palace that we needed to start taking points off sides in the top half of the table, but had barely considered that it would come to pass so quickly.

 

Huddersfield's 4-1 victory over Bournemouth earlier on Sunday had briefly seen Rafa's side drop down to 18th spot and news that Islam Slimani wasn't fit enough to even claim a place on the bench threaten to further overshadow what looked like being a long afternoon.

 

Seeing the final seconds of that Terriers game on a TV in the ground brought back unpleasant memories of the 2008/09 season, when we often seemed to be kicking off immediately after Big Sham's Blackburn Rovers had scraped priceless Premier League points in front of the cameras.

 

That proved not to be the case today though as for once we responded positively, rose to the challenge and made a virtue of adversity. Slimani's absence was soon forgotten, as those selected set about their task with relish. The only buses parked here today were out on Barrack Road.

 

Newcastle certainly enjoyed elements of good fortune - not least when Dwight Gayle of all people blocked two close-range efforts from Anthony Martial late on - but this priceless victory was by no means lucky and by the end of 95 minutes, thoroughly deserved.

 

Some outstanding home performances were the bedrock of this victory. Jonjo Shelvey took the man of the match plaudits and some of his link-up play with Mo Diame in central midfield was an absolute joy, while Paul Dummett once again showed his value to the side.

 

Accolades also rightly went to debutant goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, who made several tremendous saves, commanded his area well and distributed the ball reliably and consistently. As if underlining his talent and confidence on the ball, his first two touches were with his feet before rushing off his line and an assured claim - quite literally taking his Premier League chance with both hands.

 

All fourteen home players put in the shift of their lives though to bring the awful winless home run to an incredible and unpredictable end, the three points taking them out of the relegation zone up to 13th in the Premier League.

 

Ritchie's strike came in the 65th minute leaving Rafa's side half an hour to hang on, which they did with great tenacity and determination, although the visitors had several chances to equalise.

 

Big bucks buy Alexis Sanchez wasted a chance to shoot into an open goal as DeAndre Yedlin's challenge forced him wide and then Florian Lejeune took advantage of Sanchez's hesitation to block.

 

But referee Craig Pawson had also denied Gayle a clear penalty in the first half when Chris Smalling clipped him just inside the box in the first half and David De Gea had to be at his best to deny Shelvey in a very positive opening 45 minutes.

 

The decisive moment came when Smalling was booked for a dive inside his own half as he pretended to fall over Shelvey's challenge and fittingly it was Jonjo who delivered the cross for Lejeune to head across the box, Gayle to flick on and Ritchie to belt home.

 

Jose Mourinho had already made a double substitution that worked in our favour as Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard were withdrawn, former Magpie junior 36 year-old Michael Carrick appearing here for perhaps the last time - 18 years after he first came visiting with West Ham. 

 

The pressure was almost unbearable for the remainder of the game but our sheer resilience was heartening - bodies thrown in the way of shots (with the possible exception of substitute Joselu, seemingly more worried about his looks when hesitating to challenge for a 50/50 ball on halfway). 

 

An agonising series of corners during four added minutes concluded with Dubravka pulling off a smart one-handed save deep into added time, collapsing on the ball when it was played back into his area - and then looking up with a sly grin. Job done.

 

Given the contrasting fortunes of these two clubs since the "Howay 5-0" days, there's a certain irony in describing the fervour on display here today as a cup tie atmosphere. Extending that analogy, the current financial climate and uneven playing field makes this Newcastle victory a giant-killing and unkind jibes of the "1-0 in your cup final" variety have a level of accuracy.

 

Hopefully today marked another staging point in a season that began to nose dive when a 1-1 draw against Liverpool was immediately overshadowed by takeover talk and levels of fan unrest rose.

 

Regardless of your point of view over the validity or otherwise of the bids, the whole soap opera had a de-stabilising effect on club and fans alike: if only for poking the owner with a stick and upping paranoia levels on both sides as to media complicity in managing their respective messages.

 

Rafa's comments in the aftermath of the last transfer window spoke not only of the importance of adding to his squad but also moving players on. The desire for a striker was universal and correct, but getting Aleksandar Mitrovic and Jack Colback out of the postcode was also a priority.

 

Rather than the received wisdom that we did better today because there was less pressure in facing "a big team", a improving level of squad unity and common purpose may have been more telling.

 

Two defeats in nine games (both to Manchester City) and 13 points gained. Eleven games to play and our destiny is in our own hands. Like today though, we can't rely on anyone else to help us, it needs to be all our own work. If the third loanee emulates the other two, we might be in business.

 

Biffa

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