Compared to last weekend where I pretty diligently followed my three teams’ matches (plus Rangers – Celtic), this weekend was a different story. Just today I returned from being out in New Jersey for family reasons. We were traveling out there on Saturday morning and didn’t have too much going on Sunday morning, so I was able to check in on how the matches were going… that is checking the match tracker with my cell phone… periodically. Still, it least we have fangled technology now that does let me do just that, or even just check the final score line for that matter.
I’ll get to a very condensed weekend report in a moment, but I thought I would add one final thing about New Jersey that is football / soccer related. Besides Washington, DC, I’ve never been anywhere else to the east coast. With that said it was neat to see the vast New York skyline from Newark Airport’s AirTrain and be able to spot the Empire State Building. We got a better look as our plane took off and I was also able to get a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. Just a few seconds after seeing the patina Lady, the plane banked left and a spied another important landmark. While it wasn’t St. James’ Park, Anfield, or even Craven Cottage, I was excited to see Red Bull Arena, home of the New York Red Bulls. Sure, it was a bit childish to get excited seeing an MLS soccer stadium from a plane, but nothing even comes close to MLS soccer here in Wisconsin. I have reasons to get wound up over little things like that.
Anyway… here’s how the Yellows, Der Club, and the Toon did this weekend –
Oxford United vs. Morecambe – If I remember correctly, I first checked in on this match at the 73rd minute. I was astonished to not only see the match tied at 1-1 (I was hoping Oxford would have a solid lead), but also when the scoring took place. Morecambe broke the scoring up in just the 3rd minute of the match, but Oxford’s Scott Rendell was able to respond back in just the 5th. You don’t see both teams score within five minutes of the opening whistle too often. Of course, in the minute it took to look up all that information, Morecambe took the lead 2-1. Unfortunately, they would take that 74th minute lead to the final whistle, handing the Yellows a tough 2-1 loss.
Luckily for Oxford, Cheltenham also lost their Friday match, so Oxford still remain in 6th place in the tables. Again, they are tied with Cheltenham on points, but go ahead because of a better goal differential. The Yellows did not do anything to help improve their standing though. The team above them in 5th place is Southend United who won their weekend match (they were the team that beat Cheltenham on Friday). Oxford is now five points down from them.
FC Nurnberg vs. Bayern Munich – I have to be honest and say that although I’ll always put family first, it really pained me to watch this match – the Bavarian derby. Sure, Bayern Munich was probably going to win – which they did – but anything can happen in a derby, giving Der Club a chance.
As I said, Nurnberg did fall to the giants from Munich, but very respectfully. They didn’t get a 7-0 drubbing like Freiburg did in September, a 6-0 stomping like Hertha Berlin did last month, or even a 4-0 embarrassment that Nurnberg got on the first meeting this season. No, this was a loss that sort of wasn’t a loss. Nurnberg could leave Munich, heads held high, having only lost to Bayern Munich 1-0.
What is not a proud achievement however is that Nurnberg have now lost four matches in a row. Der Club was looking great having strung three wins together against Cologne, Werder Bremen, and Monchengladbach. It looked they were on the rise in the Bundesliga table. However since that Gladbach win, Der Club have fallen to Mainz, Wolfsburg, Stuttgart, and now Bayern Munich. Compared to last week, they not only dropped a position, from 11th to now 12th, but also lost a point of margin from relegation. They were four points clear of the 16th relegation playoff spot, but now they are only three points from that spot. Nurnberg plays Freiburg this weekend who have the second worst defense (by goals against) in the league. Nurnberg does have the second worst scoring offense in the league though, but I’m hoping they edge out, breaking this losing streak with a win.
Newcastle United vs. Liverpool – This match, being played at St. James’ Park, would mark a return for two former Toon players – striker Andy Carroll and defender Jose Enrique. Besides being taunted severely by the Toon Army, the match did not go in the favor of Carroll, Enrique, or for the rest of the Liverpool side. Newcastle’s Papiss Demba Cisse was on target in the match, scoring a brace for the Toon. Cisse but away a header in the 19th for his first and then tapped an easy one home for his second in the 59th. The match would end a 2-0 win for Newcastle, but not before Liverpool would go into meltdown mode. Their goalkeeper, Pepe Reina, would get red carded and sent off in the 83rd for a head butt on Newcastle’s James Perch. Having then already used their three substitutions for the match, who went into goal? None other than former Newcastle defender, Jose Enrique. My, he must have gotten mocked by many a Geordie at that point.
The win lets Newcastle further plant themselves in the top six of the Premier League table. They now sit a large ten points above Everton in 7th. Staying in 6th place though, gives the Toon nothing but bragging rights against the remaining fourteen teams in the league. They need to try to rise up to at least fifth to be able to qualify for European competition. Trumping Chelsea in 5th place – who are tied on points with Newcastle – would get them in the Europa League tournament. Moving past Tottenham in 4th – who are five points ahead – would get them into the Champions League. Tottenham might be too far off and too good of a side to catch, but catching Chelsea is very plausible. Newcastle’s next four fixtures look very likely for wins, having to play Swansea, Bolton, Stoke, and Wigan. After Wigan, they then play Chelsea in what could be the deciding match. We will have to wait and see, but I will definitely say that it would be nice to have one of my teams playing in European competition.
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