Four Games, Two Years

There’s been a flurry of weekend matches with even just my two English teams to follow right now. It seems the English leagues want to get as many matches in as the year turns. There were four matches in six days for Newcastle and Oxford collectively. Newcastle bookended those five days with fixtures on Friday, December 30^th and Wednesday, January 4^th. Oxford had less of a rest with a match on Saturday and then one on Monday. Considering the short time in between games, and the competition both were facing, the results were pretty fair – one result being very fair in particular. I’ll start with Oxford’s matches and then go on to Newcastle’s.

Oxford United vs. Torquay (played Saturday, December 31^st) – With Torquay just a position below Oxford, I thought this would be a very even match up. It would turn out I was very correct.

Yes, it was a very even competition, but unfortunately the match would be very ho-hum. Besides three yellow cards for Torquay, nothing would go in the books besides substitutions. The match would be a draw. However, it wasn’t for lack of close calls for either team. Torquay hit the post once and Oxford had two shots hit the woodwork – once by Constable in stoppage time. The Yellows really could have used the win, but a draw is better than a loss. They remained 8^th place in the league.

Oxford United vs. Crawley Town (played Monday, January 2^nd) – I should have looked at the schedule a bit better last week, as I mentioned that this match was a week after the Torquay match, not just two days later. Still with just the single day off, the Yellows looked ready to play against the league leaders Crawley Town.

The first half was absent of any scoring. There were only yellow cards entered into the books – three for Crawley and one for Oxford. The second half however would be more exciting. Oxford manager Chris Wilder would swap strikers in the 52^nd, substituting Jon-Paul Pittman for Tom Craddock. The move would play out very well as Pittman would score just three minutes later to put the Yellows ahead 1-0.

Oxford United had a few good chances later in the half to go up 2-0 but Crawley’s keeper would keep them out. It would instead be Crawley who would find the back of the net before match’s end. In stoppage time no less, Crawley’s striker Tyron Barnett would get one past Oxford’s keeper Ryan Clarke and bring the match to a 1-1 close.

Even with the draw against the league leaders, Oxford dropped a position in the league tables to 9^th. Torquay, starting the day just a position and a point behind Oxford, won their game and jumped the Yellows into 8^th. The next three weeks have the Yellows playing matches against sides that are in the lower half of the league table. Optimistically some wins will come of these and Oxford will not only raise their standings in the table, but also get some momentum going for the rest of the season.

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Moving over to the lads from the Northeast, Newcastle would end up getting more points out of their two games than compared to Oxford. One result would rank far higher than the other – possibly even being the best result of the season.

Newcastle United vs. Liverpool (played Friday, December 30^th) – Although Liverpool was just a mere point above the Toon in the table, Liverpool were looking more likely to move up whereas Newcastle were looking more likely to stay put. Put simply, it would be a tough game for the Toon.

The match with the Reds (Liverpool) also had some added pressure for Newcastle fans as not only would the Magpies be going up against former defender Jose Enrique but also against former striker Andy Carroll, both who transferred just last season. However, it would be a night for another former Magpie that played in the black and white stripes for a short time a few years ago. (Long enough ago that I forgot about it.)

For what it’s worth, Newcastle were the first to get a tally on the board. A ball was crossed in towards goal in Demba Ba’s direction. However, Ba never would touch the ball and Liverpool defender Daniel Agger would score an own goal. Newcastle were up 1-0 in the 25^th minute. It would be a short-lived lead though as Craig Bellamy (that forgotten former Newcastle player I alluded to earlier) would score for Liverpool just four minutes later in the 29^th. The shots were few and far between for Newcastle so the halftime score would be 1-1.

The second half had Liverpool even taking further control of the match. Bellamy would get his second goal of the match from a free kick in the 67^th minute. The goal was less about Bellamy’s scoring prowess as it was about Newcastle’s Danny Simpson apparent new-found ability of getting in his own goalkeeper’s way of keeping the ball out. Liverpool didn’t need help eleven minutes later in the 78^th as Steven Gerrard would put the final stamp on the match with a goal from right in front of goal. The Toon would go down to Liverpool with a final score of 3-1.

The Magpies didn’t do themselves any favors today with the defensive effort, but the offense was just as bad. The game’s shot tally for Newcastle was a measly four shots, with just one on goal. That is just not going to do it lads. It’s almost as if Liverpool and Daniel Agger knew that Newcastle was going to play so dismally and needed the scoring head start. Well thank you for that. The lads at least having something to take with them on the trip back home to the Northeast. (You know, besides the seeming now customary parting gift of 7^th place in the league table.)

Newcastle United vs. Manchester United (played Wednesday January 4^th) – After the Toon’s showing against Liverpool, I had mixed feeling about this match against Man U. Either the Liverpool match would be a wake-up call or it would just be a sign of bad things to come. I couldn’t have been more delighted that it would end up being the former.

I really wish I could have been able to watch this game, but it was during the work day here in the US so I could only catch a periodic update. The Magpies were taking play right at Manchester United and Man U just couldn’t keep the ball. It was all Newcastle. They also got back and defended well too when they needed to – well, barring a close call from Man U that went off the post. Besides that though, it was really just the Toon creating the scoring chances. In the 39^th minute those chances finally paid off with a Demba Ba goal. It was a great quick lead up to the goal. Keeper Tim Krul kicked a long free kick pass forward from just outside his own box, Shola Ameobi flicked a cheeky header towards Ba, and Ba quick fired the ball perfectly in the corner. After that beauty of a goal, the match settled back down to just some back-and-forth game to finish out the half.

The second half got started quickly with Newcastle being awarded a free kick in the attacking third just two minutes in. Yohan Cabaye stepped up to the ball and delivered a rocket into the top of the goal, just nipping Man U’s keeper, hitting the bar, and bouncing in. It was another beauty of a goal. Who thought that at just 47 minutes into the game, Newcastle would be beating Manchester United 2-0? (I sure didn’t.)

For the rest of the game, the ball changed hands…er feet… and Man U had most of the possession. That seemed to be fine for Newcastle however as they were content to just defend the two goal lead. Although they were mostly playing a defensive game, the scorecard would favor Newcastle one last time. In the 90^th minute, there was a miscommunication between one of Manchester United’s defenders and their keeper. The keeper was ready and in position to claim the ball, but instead the defender stepped in as the ball took an ugly bounce and he headed the ball right into his own goal. It was a mistake nonetheless, but an own goal is a goal – one that Newcastle would take. That goal would seal the game. Newcastle would take a fantastic 3-0 victory over Manchester United.

The Toon still sit comfortably in 7^th place in the table, one point behind Liverpool (oh, what could’ve been!) and four points above Stoke City. Although they seem to have a hold on 7^th place, tough times may be ahead as Demba Ba heads off to play for the Senegalese national team in the African Nations Cup. Ba is the second highest goal scorer in the league currently, but more importantly he’s leading Newcastle United with 15 goals. Unfortunately, he basically is the offense with the next closest player with a measly 3 goals for the year. If Senegal makes it through the length of their tournament, Ba will not return for Newcastle at least until after February 12^th.

Thanks Santa!

Well Santa delivered this Christmas with good results in the Boxing Day matches. Not only did I get the Newcastle win that I requested but the lads from Oxford pulled out a win as well. Because of family obligations, I didn’t watch or follow these matches much – except the odd check on the iPhone – but I am of course still thrilled with the results, even if I didn’t see them happen. Here’s how the matches went down –

Newcastle United vs. Bolton Wanderers – The Magpies traveled to Bolton to take on the Wanderers who have been lurking in the bottom three of the Premier League table. With that in mind, it should have been an easy win but then again it should have also been easy wins against Norwich City, Swansea City, and West Brom. The lads must have gotten some good gifts for Christmas though as things were different than those last three mentioned matches.

The first half was dull as neither team really did much of anything. Each team earned a yellow card each for their efforts. The second half looked like it could be the same thing. Newcastle’s manager Alan Pardew brought in midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa in on as a substitution in the 61^st minute. Ben Arfa has wanted to get back into the starting eleven and he helped buffer his chances of that just eight minutes later. In the 69^th, Ben Arfa broke things up with a goal from the penalty spot area to put the Toon up 1-0. Right after the restart, just two minutes later, Demba Ba then scored another goal to put the team up 2-0. (It’s almost to the point now that Ba needs to score for the match to be official.) Ba’s goal would be the final one scored for both teams as they would go on to keep the 2-0 win over Bolton.

The win really didn’t change anything in the standings for Newcastle. They’re still in the 7^th position, just behind Liverpool. If anything they buffered themselves a bit more from 8^th spot. I guess they did catch up on points though. Liverpool drew in their match so Newcastle are now just a point down from Liverpool’s 6^th spot.

Oxford United vs. AFC Wimbledon – As a mentioned in the opening for this post, Santa also brought me a win for Oxford. They continued their winning ways against lower position sides to get back to the upper third of the table.

While Newcastle’s win would be all in the second half, Oxford’s win would be about the first. They needed some of the match to stretch the legs and get the blood moving, but that was all over in the first quarter hour. In the 18^th, Oxford’s striker James Constable would put the Yellows up 1-0. The match then went a bit quiet again, but just before the break Oxford would get their second. In the 44^th, Asa Hall hit a nice simple header past Wimbledon’s goalkeeper and took a two goal lead into halftime.

Wimbledon threatened the goal much more in the second half – even hitting the bar once – but nothing would come of it in the end. Oxford United held AFC Wimbledon off and take the needed 2-0 victory. Just like Newcastle, Oxford’s win did not change their position in the standings. They still sit at 8^th place, just shy of promotion playoff contention. (It’s also worth mentioning that they also sit just a point shy of fierce rivals Swindon Town who hold the last promotion playoff spot.) Next week’s match against Torquay (just two positions and two points down) should be a good match, one that Oxford really will need to win. A week later, it will be another tough test against league leaders Crawley Town. The Yellows need to be in good form and attempt to take points from that match as well.

Euro 2012

With some extra time to relax this Christmas weekend and no games until Boxing Day, I can catch up on some posts that I’ve been meaning to write. I’m of course very much focused on FC Nurnberg, Newcastle United, and Oxford United, but outside of these three clubs and their respective league games and cups there’s of course much more going on in the football world. The largest non-league event is of course the Euro 2012 tournament.

I think it was about a month and a half ago that they had the final playoff games to determine the final teams to round out the 16 that make up the final tournament. Although I normally cheer on Germany (having 98% German background), I was cheering on Ireland (that last 2% of me is Irish) to make it through the extra playoff round and into the final 16. (Germany had already qualified anyway.) Luckily, Ireland managed to handily fend of Estonia and locked in their place for the final tournament in Ukraine and Poland.

After being left mistakenly out of the 2010 World Cup and having been hit hard by the recent economic downturn, making the Euro 2012 tourney meant a lot to Ireland. There is a good write-up on ESPN’s SoccerNet that you can read here. (You may also enjoy the first section of this article, detailing how one Irishman earned his seat for the second match between Ireland and Estonia match.)

Earlier this month, they then had the final draw to set the groups for the Euros. Group A, which is probably the weakest group, places together the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland (automatically qualifying as hosts), and Russia. Group B is being hailed as this tournaments “Group of Death” as it contains Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, and Portugal. Another tough group is Group C groups Croatia, Ireland, Italy, and Spain together. Group D then has England, France, Sweden, and Ukraine (also automatically qualifying as hosts).

I feel confident that Germany should get through group play even in their tough group. They are being hailed as the favorites as they have been very dominant in international friendlies and in the Euro 2012 qualifying. My concern however lies with my other favorite, Ireland. I think they can beat Croatia, are probably on par with Italy, and would lose to Spain. That’s basically a win, a draw, and a loss, which would not be an automatic move through to the quarter-finals. If they could beat Italy and draw with Spain they would be much better off.

I should mention that I have ulterior motives for the Irish to get through group play as I may be in Ireland during the later stages of the Euros. It would just be amazing to be in a pub in Ireland, enjoying a pint, and watching the game with rowdy Irishmen and women. Ireland may need some luck to get past group play, so it’s good that Ireland is known for a bit of that.

All I Want For Christmas Is a Newcastle Win

I wasn’t doing a very good job of checking my schedules and noticed late this morning that there was Premier League action today, with Newcastle United playing West Bromwich Albion. All I can say is that I hope I didn’t disturb my coworkers with all the noise I was making banging my head against the desk.

Again, Newcastle was throwing up the shots today. The end of game total had Toon with 26 and WBA with 15. However, unlike last week they did find the back of the net. Demba Ba, per usual, led the team in that department scoring two goals in the 34^th and 81^st. Sure the offense scored today, but alas the defense did not. Each time Ba scored, it merely caught up with a goal that WBA had scored earlier. I was hoping that Ba’s second was late enough that they could at least sneak out with an undeserved draw. West Bromwich Albion though would indeed find goal one more time in the 85^th and win the game 3-2.

Somehow Newcastle still managed to hold on to 7^th place in the standings with this loss. They still now haven’t won a game since November 5^th against Everton. How they’ve only slid to 7^th, I have no idea. One thing I didn’t fail to notice though is what else happened after that last win. The week after the Everton match, November 9^th to be exact, is when the idiotic ownership group guided by the grand idiot Mike Ashley changed the stadium’s name from St. James’ Park to the Sports Direct Arena. Yes, I know, the Magpies have had a lot of injuries but I couldn’t ignore the timing of the grounds name change. It may just be coincidence but this could just be showing that the renaming of historic St. James’ ripped the soul out of the club. The name change showed that money apparently meant more than history, however with how the team has done since then – does money mean more than a winning team?