With much of England still under cold temperatures, Oxford United were again out of action as their game was postponed. However, Nurnberg and Newcastle United did still play, but had very little to show for it.
Oxford United – Before I get into the actual match action, I thought I’d briefly mention Oxford’s rescheduled fixtures. They were to play Accrington Stanley this past Saturday. That match is rescheduled for Tuesday, March 27th. Their postponed match from last weekend which was to be played against Barnet, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 21st. Adjust your calendars accordingly.
Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur – Newcastle played Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday, a match, that to be forward right away, will probably be the worst of the season. This match was so dismal as a Toon fan that I checked out at halftime and went for a run outdoors instead. I should mention that it was a -3 degree Farhenheit (-19.5 degree Celsius) wind chill outside. It was miserably cold and windy outside, but it would have been more miserable watching Newcastle play.
I’m not even going to go into a match report – there wasn’t much good to say about Newcastle. At halftime, I left the score with Tottenham leading 4-0. That’s a thumping for a full ninety minutes, let alone forty-five. Spurs only added a second goal in the second half, but the damage was done by then anyway. The final, a 5-0 drumming by the hands of Tottenham was just depressing. Newcastle drew 2-2 with Spurs earlier in the year so it should have been better than this. I’ve read that the Toon were really missing Cabaye (still serving a suspension) and Tiote (still returning from the Africa Cup of Nations) were really missing, but the drop down from then to their replacements is it that great to go from a 2-2 draw to a 5-0 defeat. Ryan Taylor was also missing with his injured leg.
It’s sickening to realize the problem was the defense. The aspect that was so great for the Toon earlier this season, putting them as high as 3rd in the standings, is now their weakest link. A lot of it is injuries, sure, but it’s still damn depressing. This match sure didn’t show it, but I think that if the defense could be solid as it was in the beginning of season and now with Ba and Cisse up front, I think Newcastle could make a charge for the top of the league. Ok, that might be too much, but they could at least get to a Champions League spot.
FC Nurnberg vs. FC Augsburg – After the disappointment on Saturday with Newcastle’s match, I was looking for some excitement with Nurnberg’s clash against local rivals and relegation zone inhabitants Augsburg. I however was looking in the wrong place. With Nurnberg and Augsburg tied for second fewest goals scored in the league, the keepers wouldn’t be spending too much time picking the ball up from the back of the net. Nurnberg and Augsburg, especially when playing tough opposition, are “park the bus” teams, moving back the lines/formation to protect the goal, only going with the odd counter attack in hopes of scoring. That mindset is tough to shake for just one game, so I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising that there were only four shots total from both teams in the first half, three for Augsburg and one for Der Club. I was following a live stream online for the match, but I may as well have just been following a match tracker with so little offense.
The second half did improve offensively, probably because of halftime talks and players getting tired as the game wore on. Of course, each team made some substitutions to try to have an advantage of fresh legs over tired legs, which did lead to more shots. Augsburg took six shots, with Der Club improving with taking eleven. Still, rather sadly, neither team managed to get one past the goalkeepers and shake the net cords. The match ended in a boring 0-0 draw. With that, Nurnberg goes nowhere in the league standings. They remain in 14th. I guess they did however get a point more away from relegation. That’s still just a dismal four points away though from the relegation playoff spot.
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