Newcastle heading into deep trouble

14 March 2009 19:19
This draw keeps them outside the relegation zone, but on goal difference alone. If this was getting serious, it was far from convincing. Newcastle are hanging on by the thinnest thread. [LNB]Phil Brown, the Hull City manager, had warned them of as much before the game, and their own captain Michael Owen, back from injury, had billed this match as the most important since his arrival at the club in 2005. With a tough fixture against Arsenal next up, there was no shortage of motivational material. [LNB] Related ArticlesTelegraph player rater[LNB]Newcastle's Michael Owen bills Hull tie as most crucial match since he signed[LNB]Manchester United's dirty secret and trouble brews for Newcastle and Michael Owen[LNB]Newcastle striker Michael Owen on target for mid-March return[LNB]Gary Neville out of Man Utd-Dynamo tie[LNB]Hull City's Phil Brown fights back against Newcastle United[LNB]But Newcastle did little to excite, and the small pockets of away fans who chose to show off their commitment to the cause, braving swirling March winds by going topless were all fully clothed by the end of this match. There was clearly not much to shout about. [LNB]Hull, by contrast, will feel that they are in now a more comfortable position, although Brown admitted that there is 'a little bit of nervous tension. A little bit of composure is needed. It will go to the wire for nine or 10 teams.' [LNB]Hull went ahead inside 10 minutes with a super goal started and finished by Geovanni, marking his 50th appearance in the Premier League. The Brazilian received the ball deep in midfield, supplied Craig Fagan, and continued his run to the far post. Fagan's cross was perfect, and Stephen Harper couldn't do much with the result, a header past him into the corner. A miserable Mike Ashley looked on from the stands, biting his lip. [LNB]Newcastle were guilty of wasting too much possession, and almost went another goal down because of it. Jonas Gutierrez carelessly lost the ball in the middle of the pitch and Geovanni – hardly believing his luck – took possession and sprinted forward, to be brought down on the edge of the box by Geremi. His free-kick beat the wall and Harper, but whistled just wide of the goal. [LNB]Owen, meanwhile, had spent the majority of the opening minutes starved of service but he briefly popped up in the 36th minute, getting his head to a free-kick which went over. Three minutes later, however, Newcastle struck, Nicky Butt supplying Stephen Taylor, who flicked beyond Duke. [LNB]'I was convinced at half time that we would come out and get the three points,' Chris Hughton said. Bringing Owen off for Shola Ameobi, the Newcastle assistant manager applied pressure and went for the win, but his team couldn't produce, leaving the club in a precarious position indeed. 'I think there is always going to be a certain amount of fear at this stage in the season,' Hughton accepted. [LNB] 

Source: Telegraph