Weird Weekend

Apparently someone somewhere read my last blog post about soccer weekends being too dull. Of the three games that were scheduled for this weekend only two actually happened. To top that off, of the two that happened, I only followed one of them at all… on a match tracker… and barely. Nurnberg played Dortmund on Friday while I was at work, and having a coworker who’s a Dortmund fan, I snuck a glance at the match tracker when I could. On Saturday, Oxford United was supposed to play Barnet, but the game was postponed due to a frozen pitch. It’s been really cold in Europe this week. Newcastle played Aston Villa on Sunday, but the match started at 7:30 in the morning my time and I direly needed to catch up on sleep. So regretfully I missed the whole thing. With that, this recap of matches will be just as much for my benefit as for yours.

FC Nurnberg vs. Borussia Dortmund – This was my big game of the weekend, not only because Dortmund is sitting in second in the table, but also, as I have mentioned, that I wave a Dortmund following coworker.

Nurnberg started the game off very well, keeping level with Dortmund through the first half. Nurnberg even looked more threatening of the two sides in the early stages, just narrowly missing goal a few times. Dortmund seemed to wake up around the 25^th minute or so, but Der Club still managed to actually get one more shot than Dortmund by the end of the first half.

Dortmund were wide awake by the time the second half started, scoring quickly in the 48^th minute. Der Club brought in some attacking minded substitutions, but it was no use. They actually kept pace on the shooting, four shots to Dortmund’s five, but Dortmund had two of theirs count. Besides that score in the 48^th, Dortmund’s Lucas Barrios, a substitution in the 72^nd, scored in the 82^nd to put Dortmund up by two. Nurnberg had nothing to say after that and the match ended 2-0, a loss that in hindsight could have been much worse.

Nurnberg moved down in the table a spot again this week with the loss. They now sit in 14^th place in the league table, three points away from the relegation playoff spot and four points away from automatic relegation. Next week they play Augsburg, one of the sides below them in the table and in one of those relegation spots, so I’m looking for Der Club to bounce back and get more distance from relegation.

Newcastle United vs. Aston Villa – Again, I unfortunately slept through the match but it was a game of highs in lows. Just fourteen minutes into the game, Newcastle striker Leon Best had to be substituted because of an injury. (For those wanting to keep track, this would be a “low.”) The man to who would be brought in for Best though would be super-sub and newly transferred Papiss Cisse (a “high”). Although Cisse came into the game, his Senegalese compatriot Demba Ba would score for Newcastle first in the 30^th minute (obviously a “high”). That “high” would only last so long though as Newcastle midfielder and free kick specialist would go off in the 34^th minute with an injury – bad enough that his leg needed a brace and he needed to be carried off on a stretcher. That was obviously filed under the “low” column and his replacement Gabriel Obertan just simply filled his spot in the formation. Things would get worse though just before the break in the stoppage time for the first half. On loan for Aston Villa, striker Robbie Keane would make things level at 1-1 at the break (another “low”).

From reading reports, the game was more open in the second. Neither team really capitalized though until the 71^st minute. Thank goodness that team would be Newcastle. Jonas Gutierrez crossed a ball into the box that Cisse chested and then slammed past Aston Villa’s keeper (“high!”). The Magpies defense and keeper Krul had to keep out a few last efforts from Aston Villa but they would hold out to get the 2-1 victory.

For those who lost track of the count, that was three “lows” and three “highs.” Sure they won the game, so that should take precedence over everything else, but the injuries to Best and Ryan Taylor are crucial. Best is now a second-stringer with Ba and Cisse as the attacking two, but Taylor’s absence worries me. He’s versatile, playing in midfield or defense, seems to be a good presence for the team, and is the Toon’s main man for free kicks. Luckily, the lower leg / shin injury that he left the game with showed up negative for bone breaks. He’ll probably be out at least a few games though nursing what must be one hell of a bone bruise, but optimistically he is not out for anything long term. Best, for what it’s worth, seems to have only mildly injured a ligament in his knew according to the team website, so hopefully he won’t be gone for long either. Even with the injuries though, the outlook could be far worse. Newcastle still currently have the 5^th position in the league table to hang their hat on.