A Tale of Two Uniteds

Collectively Oxford United and Newcastle United had one goal for and one goal against. Where that could of course mean that one team had a 1-1 draw and the other a 0-0 draw, it wouldn’t be that way. Here’s the breakdown of which United won and which United lost.

Oxford United vs. Crewe Alexandra – Oxford was looking to take revenge from a loss to Crewe earlier in the season and they looked to have that push in the first half. The chances were there but the shots were not. It seemed like the ball would be off the mark, be blocked by a defender, or be saved by Crewe’s keeper. The Yellows would outshoot Crewe 8 to 2 in the first half. However, it would be a story of two halves as Crewe would push the ball more in the second. Crewe would outshoot Oxford in this second half, 3 to 2.

A late push by Crewe would finally get Oxford in the end. It did look as though it would end in a scoreless draw, but a sneaky goal from Crewe in the 89^th would give them the last minute 1-0 win. It was a heartbreaking goal that was scored from right in front of the goal. The Yellows would have gone to 6^th place with a draw, but with the loss they disappointingly drop to 8^th – out of promotion contention. Even worse, all the teams ahead of them also have a game in hand, with Oxford playing 26 so far and the others 25. In the short term it won’t harm them, but it definitely will eventually.

Newcastle United vs. Queens Park Rangers – With a 7:30 start time, this was a bit earlier than I would’ve liked for a Sunday morning, but nonetheless I was up and watching a live stream online. As I did set my alarm to go off right at kickoff, I was a bit late in joining the coverage, pulling the live stream up at the 23^rd minute. I know the timing that specifically as in the 23^rd Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye was laying on the pitch with an injury. He would have to be carted off (didn’t actually look to be that bad though) and Hatem Ben Arfa would be his replacement.

From what the commentators were saying, Ben Arfa seemed to provide some lift to the team and they played better for the rest of the game than in the first 20 minutes. Looking at the notes from the match tracker I was also following, QPR did have a few good shots in those in the opening 20 minutes, but after that Newcastle managed to control the game. At the end of the match, Newcastle would manage to have 61% of the possession.

The really wasn’t much in the match. As one commentator on the live stream mentioned, both teams were playing solid but lacked that one good pass into the box to really threaten goal. QPR would end up getting six shots on goal (most in that first 20 minutes) and Newcastle would end up getting one lone shot on goal. However, that one lone shot would be the difference. In the 37^th minute, Leon Best would just be able to shake loose of a defender to receive a pass that really was half a chance at making a threat on goal. Best would make the most of it though by getting the ball, doing a crossover dribble to shake off a defender, and then hammered the ball past QPR’s keeper. That’s all Newcastle would need to beat Queen Park Rangers 1-0.

Liverpool drew to Stoke City on Saturday, so Newcastle jumps ahead of them into 6^th with their win. It was a good start for the Toon who are without Ba and Tiote out until mid-February playing in the African Nations Cup. Through then they have league matches against Fulham, Blackburn, Aston Villa, and Tottenham. They also have a FA Cup match on January 28^th and looking at the gap in the league schedule another FA Cup match on February 18^th (barring they win the match on the 28^th). FA Cup matches can always be tricky, but league-wise Newcastle should be ok. Tottenham, currently sitting in third, is the largest worry. All the other teams are in the bottom half of the table. Still, things can happen, so although I may not be nervously holding my breath, I will be crossing my fingers for good results.