Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Newcastle was the lone fixture on Sunday with a match against Tottenham. This would be a match that would really show if the Magpies are deserving of their 4^th position in the standings or if it has just been a fluke.

Newcastle came out well I thought. They were moving the ball well even when under pressure from Tottenham. They were in their attacking end more than the Spurs. Again they were passing the goal around, working angles but they just couldn’t quite get anything on goal. Still it looked promising. However, that changed at the end of the half.

Tottenham’s striker Adebayor had a mildly threatening breakaway run into the box and center back Steven Taylor brought him down. Adebayor did a bit of an acting job on his fall, but there was indeed a slight knock and the foul was the correct call. Taylor made the mistake; he didn’t need to make a play on the ball and risk the foul. He just needed to keep a defensive position. Tottenham’s other striker Van der Vaart fulfilled his duties from the penalty spot and Tottenham went up 1-0.

With that horrible ending to the first half, Newcastle started the second half with a great beginning. Just two minutes into the half striker Demba Ba got a nice cross from Jonas Gutierrez and hammered the ball home. The ball went all the other players in front of goal and came perfectly to Ba who came around the back. Tottenham’s goalie certainly wasn’t watching him as he was so out of position that he actually caught the shot…but he was inside his own goal. That leveler then got the game going. It was a real cracking back and forth match after that.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp substituted their first half goal scorer Van der Vaart with Jermain Defoe in the 64^th minute, a decision that would prove to be very wise. Just a few minutes after being introduced, Defoe would score from just outside the top center of the box to bring his team a goal ahead. It was a quick catch-turn-shoot play that was quicker than everyone expected. Newcastle’s keeper Krul managed a lunge that just nicked it as it sailed into the net.

After that Newcastle rightly kept the pressure forward. Pardew, their manager, made a double substitution to put some fresh legs into the attacking front. Ben Arfa replaced Ba and Ameobi replaced Best. The decision, like Redknapp’s for the other side, would prove to be a good one. For a few minutes it was a good back and forth, but ultimately the Toon got the proving chance. In the 86^th minute, sub Shola Ameobi had just a small run into the box and hit a hard diagonal strike that went past Tottenham’s goalie and into the bottom corner. On the live stream that I was watching, St. James Park just erupted. One of the commentators even remarked that 60,000 Geordies all shouted in joy.

There were a few chances for Newcastle after that, but ultimately it ended it a 2-2 draw. Still, I’m quite happy with that and I’m sure a lot of other Toon followers are too. Though they didn’t win, Newcastle showed that they could keep pace with a top level team. Sure, we’ll wait and see what happens when they play Chelsea or the sides from Manchester, but still Tottenham is a good team. Comparing Newcastle’s individual players to theirs, they should win out. The boys playing in black and white stripes though just have some spark right now that kept them on terms when the final whistle was blown. What that spark is, or where it has come from, more importantly has also kept them in fourth place.