As it is now Thursday, I can now finally write about this past Saturday’s action. My worst fears for a weekend of football action materialized this past weekend. Following three teams, each of which can win, draw, or lose, there are twenty-seven possible total outcomes for my football weekend. Of course I have a one in twenty-seven chance of all three teams winning, but as it was this past weekend the one and twenty-seven from the other end of the spectrum was the one to show its ugly head.
Besides all my teams losing, all of the losses were by two goals or more. I will admit that because of this, I didn’t follow the games that closely after awhile. In fact I actually left my station in front of my laptop early to go do some holiday shopping with my wife.
I’ll do my best for match reports, but these won’t be much. Let’s go from worst to best loss (if one can really say that):
Nurnberg vs. Schalke – Although Der Club were playing against a Schalke side that is currently playing in the Europa league competition, I was hoping for a bit of a better showing. Chances were good that Nurnberg would lose the match but I was hoping for, well, something.
Starting the game, Nurnberg had two long-time injuries back in the lineup. Raphael Schaefer was back in goal and Daniel Didavi , on loan from Stuttgart, was up front as a striker. This gave me a little bit more hope for the game.
Alas though, all those hopes I had for the game were quickly dashed. By halftime, Schalke was beating Nurnberg 2-0. With that lead, Schalke sat back for the second half but still managed to increase their lead against a meager Nurnberg side. When the final whistle blew, Schalke beat Schalke by a resounding 4-0. It was the Bayern Munich match from a few weeks ago all over again, just not against as strong of a side.
With the loss, Nurnberg is now sits in the relegation zone in 16th place. With a season goal differential tally of -11, I maybe shouldn’t be surprised of their position. However, just like with the start of the Schalke game, I continue to have hope.
Oxford United vs. Crawley Town – This was a test for the Yellows to see how fit they are to make a true run for promotion. They lost 2-1 to league leaders Southend a few weeks ago and with Crawley sitting in second position there were thoughts that something could come out of this game. Oxford also had Robert Hall returning on loan to help the scoring up front.
Unfortunately, Crawley Town started their scoring in the game right from the opening kick. Crawley’s striker Tyrone Barnett got a goal in the 4th minute and then had his second just ten minutes later in the 14th. It was not a good day for the Oxford’s defense to have an opposition striker working on a hat trick that soon into the game.
The Yellows looked to be coming back when James Constable scored in the 30th minute. That looked to be a good note to head into the locker room on for halftime, but Crawley Town had other plans. In the third minute of the half’s stoppage time, they scored another goal to go up 3-1.
I think the Oxford side had to be pretty down on themselves during halftime and that maybe showed going into the second half. Just seven minutes in, Crawley added another to go up 4-1 in the 52nd minute. Sadly that’s how the game would end.
The game’s conclusion would put Oxford United into 9th place in the standings, two spots out of the promotion zone. Their goals against tally on the season is no longer leading the league, but it still isn’t bad. They do however need to find something up front to get more goals through. Continuing to have striker Robbie Hall on load does help, but as it is just a short term loan it definitely isn’t the full answer.
Newcastle United vs. Manchester City – My big game of the day was Newcastle’s match against league leaders Manchester City. Man City’s offense is blowing everyone away and their defense is one of the best this year too. That combination has given them a pre-match season goal differential of a whopping 29. This Man City side also thrashed Manchester United 6-1 a few weeks ago. Newcastle would have to be in top form to get something out of the match.
Well, that top form just didn’t come out on this Saturday. Manchester City played as they do with an impressive, sometimes oppressive, offense. Credit to them for that, but the Magpies lost the game more than Man City won it. It really all came down to penalties.
It looked as though the first half would finish goalless, but in the 40th Newcastle defender Ryan Taylor committed a handball in the 18-yard box giving Man City a penalty. Their Mario Balotelli would finish it off to take his team ahead 1-0. Four minutes later, Ryan Taylor would again factor into another goal for Man City. This time Taylor would defend poorly against an attacking Man City Samri Nasri which led to an easy goal for City’s Micah Richards.
The second half would begin better than the first ended for Newcastle, but ultimately they would shoot themselves in the foot again. Remember I did say that it came down to penalties, plural. In the 71st minute, Newcastle’s Ben Arfa would give up a foul in the box giving City another penalty. This time their Sergio Aguero would finish the job and put them up 3-0 against Newcastle. Showing something from their day, Newcastle would pull one back in the 89th minute when substitute midfielder Dan Gosling struck one home. The game would end with Newcastle losing to Manchester City 3-1.
It could have been far worse of a day for the Toon, but still I wonder what could have been without giving up the penalties. Still, you also can’t help to think of Manchester United’s embarrassing loss to them earlier in the season. A loss is still a loss, so I’m still disappointed. What makes the loss harder to stomach is that on Monday Tottenham moved into third position in the league table with their win over Aston Villa. Newcastle fall down to fourth.
I guess things could be worse. It’s not like they renamed historic St. James’ Park or anything. Oh right…
No comments:
Post a Comment