Source: Telegraph
Newcastle United 2 Middlesbrough 0: match report
Newcastle strengthened their grip on the leadership of the Championship as their relentless pursuit of Premier League football gained momentum in controversial circumstances. [LNB]Goals from Marlon Harewood and Shola Ameobi in this Tyne-Tees derby - a re-run of last season's desperation derby when both clubs slipped towards relegation - mean Newcastle have now opened up a 10-point lead over second-placed West Bromwich Albion and the rest of the chasing pack. [LNB]Crystal Palace 0 Newcastle United 2: match reportGareth Southgate: Middlesbrough in last chance saloonNewcastle and Middlesbrough face loser-loses-all contest as Spurs plan to spendDid Mark Schwarzer make the save of the season at Newcastle?Harewood, whose loan from Aston Villa ends at Barnsley on Boxing Day, put Chris Hugton's side on course for victory with a highly contentious first-half goal as action replays showed Boro defender Emanuel Pogatetz and goalkeeper Brad Jones were fouled in the moments before his decisive intervention. [LNB]And just to rub salt into Boro wounds, against a side undefeated at St James' Park this season, a hand-ball inside his own six-yard area by Steven Taylor deflected midfielder Isaiah Osbourne's shot onto a post and was missed by the officials. [LNB]Boro had started brightly, and Leroy Lita twice threatened a breakthrough, before Harewood put his team ahead in the 16th minute when he took advantage of referee Kevin Friend's failure to spot Shola Ameobi's foul on Pogatetz to score his fifth goal in Newcastle colours. [LNB]The former Nottingham Forest and West Ham striker was allowed to stab the ball home from close range, after Ameobi rose and illegally beat Jones at the far post following Danny Guthrie's free-kick, before Harewood applied the simplest of finishing touches. [LNB]Newcastle dominated the subsequent exchanges and skipper Alan Smith went close to scoring his first league goal in four years when he tried his luck from 25 yards but his low shot swept just wide of Jones' left-hand post. [LNB]Boro stood firm and should have equalised after Gary O'Neil set his sights on goal with a 25-yard free-kick, following Smith's foul on Dave Kitson. [LNB]His effort at goal deceived Steve Harper, who spilled his shot, and then saw Osbourne slide in to punish his mishandling from close range, only to see Taylor divert the ball with his hand, before his goalkeeper safely gathered. [LNB]The Boro manager, Gordon Strachan, tried to correct the injustices by replacing the ineffective Dave Kitson with Marcus Bent at half-time, to invigorate his attack, but his defence continued to give him headaches. [LNB]Strachan was left mightily relieved when Jones' attempted clearance cannoned off Harewood, but rebounded to safety, as his goal led a charmed life under barrage from Newcastle's attack. [LNB]Back came Boro and David Wheater went close to equalising when he out-jumped Fabricio Coloccini, following O'Neil's free-kick, but his header drifted inches wide of Harper's far post. [LNB]That represented a false dawn if ever there was one as Ameobi doubled Newcastle's lead with a header that even the watching Alan Shearer, in the BBC television studio, would have been proud of. [LNB]Ameobi beat Jones with a powerful downward header, following Danny Guthrie's excellent swinging cross, as Wheater got his bearings all wrong in the six-yard box to allow the striker the most inviting of openings. [LNB]It effectively guaranteed Newcastle the local bragging rights and intensified the problems at Boro, where Strachan has now tasted victory just once in eight games since Gareth Southgate's sacking. [LNB]Boro had their moments but Lita wasted their best opening when he shot wildly over Harper's bar, a hardly forgivable act of wastefulness for a club without a win on Tyneside since 2001. [LNB]At this rate it could be quite a few years before Boro get another crack at their local rivals, with the clubs clearly heading in different directions.[LNB]Match details: [LNB]Newcastle (4-4-2): Harper; Simpson, Taylor, Coloccini, Enrique; Guthrie, Nolan, Smith (Butt 49, Gutierrez; Harewood (Ranger 66), Ameobi (Pancrate 84). Subs: Krul (g), Lovenkrands, Ryan Taylor, Kadar. Booked: Simpson Middlesbrough (4-4-2): Jones; McMahon, Wheater, Pogatetz, Hoyte; O'Neil, R Williams, Osbourne, Arca (Yeates 66); Lita (Franks 84), Kitson (Bent h-t). Subs: Coyne (g), Taylor, Riggott, L Williams. Booked: R Williams, Pogatetz Referee: K Friend (Herts) [LNB]
