Newcastle v Boro live!

11 May 2009 18:31
Game over on Tyneside and it could be curtains for Middlesbrough in terms of Premier League football. Those two late goals from substitutes Martins and Lovenkrands give Newcastle an absolutely priceless win, and a lifeline. They've still work to do but safety is now in their hands. For Boro though the picture is very very bleak.[LNB]90+3 Nolan fires way over the Boro bar but it doesn't really matter now. Newcastle are heading for three priceless points.[LNB]90+3 Carroll fouled by Huth on the Newcastle left and the Toon can run down more of that clock.[LNB]90+2 King penalised on the edge of the Newcastle box - big cheers from the home fans.[LNB]90+1 Lovenkrands finds Carroll but his left-footed shot is straight at Jones.[LNB]90 Into the final minute of normal time and it looks like the game is up for Boro. Chants of "Shearer, Shearer" echo around St James' Park.[LNB]89 For the first time in a long time, St James' Park is alive. 50,000 Toon fans bouncing. They've endured some pain this season, but things might just be coming right at the perfect time.[LNB]88 Newcastle have three against one - Martins finds Carroll but his shot is well saved by Jones.[LNB]87 Viduka comes off to a standing ovation and Andy Carroll replaces him.[LNB]86 GOAL LOVENKRANDS - Another Toon substitute scores and surely it's game over for Boro. Martins heads down for Viduka and when he crosses low into the box Lovenkrands is unmarked to sweep the ball into the roof of the Boro net.[LNB]85 Tuncay is caught in possession on halfway but Downing is back with a super tackle to stop Martins.[LNB]84 Aliadiere is held back by Nolan and - frustrated - swings out an arm. It's Nolan who gets the yellow card though.[LNB]83 Jones clears long and Boro desperately go forward in search of an equaliser. Bassong heads clear on the edge of the Newcastle box.[LNB]82 Boro free-kick comes to nothing - home fans cheer as it goes behind Harper's goal.[LNB]82 Duff is booked for pulling King's shirt on halfway.[LNB]81 Boro can't clear the corner and Viduka's shot on the turn from eight yards out is blocked.[LNB]81 Beye wins a corner on the right for Newcastle as Huth blocks it behind.[LNB]80 Downing is back defending to control Harper's clearance and set Boro attacking again.[LNB]79 Johnson wins a Boro corner off Beye. How they need a goal now. Corner comes to nothing.[LNB]78 Almost disaster for Newcastle as they leave Hoyte's cross into the six-yard box and Emnes almost gets on the end of it. A very grateful Harper claims in the end.[LNB]77 Boro make their final change as Adam Johnson replaces Andrew Taylor.[LNB]76 Butt takes the free-kick and it has both bend and pace. Too high though and Jones allows it to go over.[LNB]75 Newcastle have a free-kick in a dangerous position just a few yards outside the Boro box.[LNB]74 Taylor plays the ball forward for Martins and he then finds Guthrie. Butt crosses in and Aliadiere of all people heads clear.[LNB]73 Bates is down injured and there's a break in play.[LNB]72 Boro try to hit straight back as Aliadiere heads wide on the near post. Hull City meanwhile are now in the bottom three for the first time this season.[LNB]71 GOAL MARTINS - Astonishing scenes as the Nigerian puts the Toon in front less than a minute after replacing Owen. The ball breaks to him 10 yards out and despite scuffing his right-foot shot somewhat as he stumbles, it's good enough to beat Jones and find the corner.[LNB]70 Owen's night is over - he's replaced by Martins for the last 20 minutes. No recriminations from either Owen or the crowd.[LNB]69 Boro make a change as Shawky is replaced by Jeremie Aliadiere.[LNB]68 O'Neil works tirelessly to try and win the ball back just inside his own half but he's penalised for handball and Newcastle have a free-kick. It comes to nothing as Nolan brings down Huth as he carries the ball clear.[LNB]68 This time Guthrie's corner is way too deep. Goes out for a Boro throw on the other side.[LNB]67 Excellent corner from Guthrie and Tuncay heads it out for another.[LNB]67 Shawky gives the ball away and Lovenkrands hammers a left-footed shot from 25 yards out that is deflected for a corner.[LNB]66 Lovenkrands' first touch is an attempted through ball for Owen. It's overhit but Jones is out quickly and concedes a throw.[LNB]65 Gutierrez comes off after working hard but producing nothing. Lovenkrands replaces him.[LNB]65 Looks like Newcastle are about to bring on Peter Lovenkrands.[LNB]64 Nice play from Boro again but comes to nothing when Tuncay fails to complete a simple ball in Hoyte in acres of space on the right. Goal-kick Newcastle.[LNB]64 Downing crosses dangerously from the right but Harper is out quickly to make a confident catch.[LNB]63 The tension really is unbelievable - the faces in the crowd show it for all to see. Inside the final half-hour now. It really is squeaky bum time.[LNB]62 Huth shepherds the ball out for Boro and they have a goal-kick.[LNB]61 Nolan shoots on the turn from 25 yards out on the half-volley. Not an easy position and it's well off target.[LNB]60 King caught offside for Boro, and it looks like Huth is struggling with an injury.[LNB]59 More good Boro possession but O'Neill's cross is headed out by Guthrie.[LNB]58 First signs of the home crowd getting restless as the Toon play an aimless ball forward.[LNB]57 Emnes just flagged offside as Downing tries to dink the ball through for him.[LNB]56 Spell of Boro pressure ends with O'Neil blasting a volley goalwards. Beaten away by strong hands from Harper. Good save.[LNB]55 Pressure starting to build on Boro. Guthrie fires a low shot that's blocked and the Toon have a corner. Comes to nothing despite Steven Taylor's attempts to get his head on the ball.[LNB]54 Butt plays the ball forward and Guthrie dummies but Viduka can't collect. Poor clearance from Jones thought and Newcastle have a throw on their right.[LNB]53 Good build-up from Boro ends when Tuncay finds Emnes just outside the box. He squares to Shawky who fires over from 25 yards out.[LNB]52 Guthrie does take - into the Boro wall.[LNB]51 Newcastle have a free-kick 30 yards out as Beye is brought down. Guthrie to take.[LNB]50 Owen races into the Boro box and shoots across the face of goal but Viduka is penalised for a foul in the build-up.[LNB]49 Newcastle corner comes to nothing and Boro can clear their lines.[LNB]48 Butt takes the free-kick but it's deflected off the wall and over the bar for a Newcastle corner.[LNB]47 O'Neil hauls back Gutierrez as he races towards the Boro box. Free-kick right on the edge of the D.[LNB]46 Butt finds Beye out on the right with a super ball. Beye crosses low into the box and Viduka's cheeky backheel aiming for the far corner of the Boro net is just off target.[LNB]46 Middlesbrough get the second half under way - what dramas await?[LNB] Teams back out at St James' - here we go.[LNB] Final half-time message from Bradley Olive who says: "Please stay as a draw, i support Hull City and i have been sat on the edge of my seat for the whole game so far its so tense for the fans at St.James park but even more tense in my living room."[LNB]Jamie Freeman now mails in to say: "newcastle has been all over boro but the problem is finishing, if owen gets the space he will do a good job but he needs someone to give him the time. martins and lovenkrands to come on for gutierrez and viduka!"[LNB] Message now from Col Bart in Afghanistan, who says: "Never been this nerous since arriving in Afghanistan - Newcastle have got the strenght to get through this with a result. Come on the Toon!!" Think that, better than any other mail, sums up the feelings this game is producing.[LNB]Tony Foster from Middlesbrough argues: "One player doesn't make a team, agreed. But if either side had a Torres or Ronaldo they'd be mid table. The finishing is absolutely abysmal. Chances are hard to come by in the Prem, skying them is a recipe for disaster." Well put Tony.[LNB]Mark Cain from New York says: "Both teams look scared stiff. I see the second half playing out in the same fashion with a 1-1 stalemate. That result will probably take them both down."[LNB] Just before I get to your mails, a betting update. Sky Bet now go 11-10 Newcastle, 7-2 Boro and 7-5 the draw.[LNB] Half-time on Tyneside and these two teams reach the interval exactly as they started tonight - dead level. Breathless and without a great deal of skill, but we expected nothing else. Frantic start after which it settled down a bit. Boro finished the half well. Send me your half-time mails and I'll print the best - grahamianshaw@hotmail.com[LNB]45+3 Beye raids down the Newcastle right but O'Neil does really well to stop him.[LNB]45+2 Emnes fouls Steven Taylor as the Toon defender struggles to clear the ball.[LNB]45+1 Free-kick is fully 30 yards out but Downing strikes it low into the Newcastle wall.[LNB]45 Duff, doing a manful job out of position, clears his lines again. But Boro starting to impose themselves in the closing stages of this first half. Now they win a free-kick for a foul by Taylor on Emnes after the ball had gone.[LNB]44 Duff hammers a clearance off Emnes for a Newcastle throw. Southgate meanwhile somehow manages a smile on the touchline. Somehow.[LNB]43 Decent chance for Boro. First King almost nips in and then when the ball breaks Downing crosses to Emnes but he fluffs his lines from 12 yards out. Mishits his shot and it's way off target.[LNB]42 Duff crosses to the back post, Steven Taylor gets his head to it but then can't stop it from going out for a goal-kick.[LNB]42 Emnes is found by a ball out to the left. Cuts in and lays it back to Tuncay just outside the box but his shot is way over Harper's bar. Disappointing.[LNB]41 Deep cross from Hoyte but an easy catch for Harper under no pressure at all.[LNB]40 Boro break well and O'Neil crosses into the Toon box but the home side have men back and clear.[LNB]39 Guthrie swings in the free-kick, Bates heads it up in the air and O'Neil completes the clearance.[LNB]39 Huth now walking a tightrope - goes through the back of Owen and is penalised.[LNB]38 Bassong gets up to head the free-kick over the Boro bar, but he was pushing and it's a free-kick anyway to the visitors.[LNB]37 Viduka slips a lovely ball into the run of Owen and Huth pulls him back. Yellow card for the Boro defender.[LNB]36 Marlon King - who scored here for Hull earlier in the season - replaces Alves.[LNB]35 Still no Boro substitute but it looks like Marlon King is finally ready to replace Alves when there's a break in play. Southgate giving him last-minute instructions.[LNB]34 Boro down to 10 momentarily as they head clear a dangerous cross from Kevin Nolan.[LNB]33 Alves looks like he twisted his ankle and he leaves the field on a stretcher. Bad news for him and for Boro.[LNB]32 Worrying moments for Boro as Alves goes down in a heap. Doesn't look great at the moment.[LNB]31 First yellow card of the night and it's for Nicky Butt as he cynically brings down the breaking Alves.[LNB]30 Duff pops up on the right and is blocked off by Shawky. Crowd howl for obstruction but the referee gives nothing.[LNB]29 Viduka is dispossessed in his own half and Emnes fires a swerving shot from 20 yards out. Harper blocks with his legs but Emnes follows up, controls nicely and is one on one with the keeper. He slides it past Harper but wide of goal. Viduka out of jail and a great chance wasted by Boro.[LNB]28 Boro in trouble from two corners in quick succession. The first one is diverted goalwards by Steven Taylor but it hits a Boro defender. Appeals for a penalty - nothing doing. The next corner sees Bassong causing all sorts of problems for the Boro defence. They get it clear eventually but they've had a real problem with set-pieces so far tonight.[LNB]27 Lovely play from Newcastle. Viduka turns Emnes and O'Neil before crossing into the six-yard box. Owen twists to flick a header goalwards and Jones tips it over for a corner.[LNB]26 Butt gets to the byeline but his cutback is weak and Boro clear easily.[LNB]25 Viduka has space in the centre of the pitch and raids forward. Dinks a ball over the top for Owen but it's too strong.[LNB]24 Big cheers from the home fans as Butt is pulled by Mohamed Shawky and wins a free-kick inside his own half.[LNB]23 Downing finds Hoyte on the right and his cross is headed out for a throw by Bassong.[LNB]22 Viduka back inside his own half showing silky skills to break up a Boro attack. Takes all sorts with stakes so high.[LNB]21 Gutierrez tries to make ground down the Toon left, but is crowded out.[LNB]20 Guthrie's latest corner is met by a meaty header from Huth - strong defending from the Boro man.[LNB]19 This time Guthrie's corner is too strong and evades everybody, but then Duff crosses back in and Tuncay heads out for another corner.[LNB]19 Huth, under pressure from Owen, has to concede a corner. Boro haven't defended them well so far.[LNB]18 Nice passing move from Newcastle ends when Guthrie's ball through the middle is headed clear neatly by Justin Hoyte.[LNB]17 Brief chance for a breather after that frenetic start as Jones takes a goal-kick for Boro.[LNB]17 Gutierrez plays a ball inside the full-back for Beye but Huth gets across to clear.[LNB]16 Viduka heads the corner up in the air and Jones gets above him to punch clear at the second attempt.[LNB]15 Downing concedes a corner as Viduka crosses from the right. Crowd going berserk.[LNB]14 Harper clears long for Newcastle but Boro mop up at the back. Downing plays a ball into the path of Afonso Alves with the outside of his left foot, but Alves can't collect.[LNB]13 Emnes is dispossessed by Duff but Owen can't latch onto Duff's ball forward.[LNB]12 Now the crowd are right into this one. The next 10 minutes promise to be pretty hairy for Boro.[LNB]11 Owen almost nips in on the edge of the Boro box but Matthew Bates is alert to the danger and intercepts.[LNB]10 Well we expected drama and so far we definitely haven't been disappointed. The stats said 0-0 should have been odds-on for this one. Not so.[LNB]9 GOAL STEVEN TAYLOR - Guthrie wins a corner on the right and takes it. He swings it in to the near post and Taylor meets it with a powerful header that flies past Jones into the corner of the Middlesbrough net. Game on![LNB]8 Newcastle have the chance to launch a long throw into Viduka in the box but the whistle goes - free-kick Boro.[LNB]7 Toon fans trying to get behind their team but for the moment they're still rocking after that early own goal from Beye. Is fate conspiring against them?[LNB]6 Toon almost level. Viduka blasts a volley against the post with Brad Jones beaten all ends up. Rebound breaks to Steven Taylor who hammers a volley over from six yards out.[LNB]5 Not surprisingly the home crowd are totally stunned by that start. Not surprising.[LNB]4 Newcastle all over the shop in the early stages at the back, but Downing fouls Gutierrez to give the a moment of respite.[LNB]3 OWN GOAL HABIB BEYE - Disastrous start for the Toon. Flick into the box finds Tuncay tracked by Beye as Harper races out of his goal. Tuncay's shot is blocked by Harper but the ball breaks free and as Beye stumbles he knocks the ball into his own net.[LNB]2 Promising start by Emnes as he fashions a shooting chance just outside the box. Well struck but blocked.[LNB]2 Nicky Butt plays the ball through but Owen had been caught offside. Boro clear their lines.[LNB]1 Early effort from Newcastle as Viduka finds Owen and he spreads play out to Danny Guthrie. He has a decent shooting chance but screws it badly high and wide.[LNB]1 Stewart Downing has started on the right for Boro with Tuncay on the left.[LNB]1 Owen almost through for the Toon inside the opening 10 seconds. Viduka's flick nearly had him in.[LNB]1 Under way on Tyneside and what an evening we have in store. Both teams desperate for three points as they stare relegation in the face. Ninety minutes of pure drama are under way.[LNB] Teams are out, and the place is jumping. We'll be under way shortly. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride![LNB] By the way, it's a flag day in Newcastle and seemingly everybody inside St James' tonight (apart from the travelling Boro support) is waving a black and white flag. Will they be waving white ones by 10pm? Find out in the next two hours - teams are in the tunnel.[LNB] Just awaiting the arrival of the two teams now, and the atmosphere in St James' Park is really building. A mixture of passion and nerves - intoxicating.[LNB] Last pre-match word goes to Steve from Canada who tells us: "I can barely manage to pay attention to this teleconference I'm supposed to be on! Shearer will steer us to safety ... hopefully! 2-0 to the Toon! Owen will break his duck!"[LNB] Boro fan Dan Batten says: "Very nervous about tonight especially now I hear Emnes is starting. He's good at dribbling but I haven't seen anything more of him, think its about time Southgate started Adam Johnson. Anyways Come on Boro!"[LNB]James Payne is a tad nervous. He says: "absolutely bricking it...magpies to go all the way....about time owen started knockin em in.. come on boys"[LNB]Ginger Al in Toronto says: "My heart says Newcastle to stay up but my head says they are already down and the players are playing as if they know it and want to get out as soon as possible - may be that's the best thing that could happen as too many are just going through the motions !!"[LNB]Mark from Eston says: "I have been a life long Boro fan (47yrs) but no matter how much i want to the boro to win we just do not deserve any sort of result. Both teams have played absolute rubbish all season and neither team deserve a result from this match." Strong stuff.[LNB] Blimey, for a minute I thought nobody dare e-mail in! At last we have one from Paul Hipson, who says: "Crikey this is nervous stuff. I'm a barcode fan so surely it's about time Michael Owen paid some of that transfer fee back. I do fel shearer will stay what ever the result but I'm just praying it's a win. Come on the Toon!"[LNB] Just 30 minutes to kick-off on Tyneside, and how are you feeling? Nervous I'll wager. Whether you're Toon or Boro, send your pre-match mails to grahamianshaw@hotmail.com and I'll print the best.[LNB] If you fancy a punt on tonight's game Newcastle are 4-5 with Sky Bet to take all three points (wouldn't be taking that personally) while Middlesbrough are 7-2 chances (much more like it) and the draw is 5-2. If you are betting, good luck![LNB] Big team news tonight of course is that Michael Owen starts alongside Mark Viduka up front for Newcastle, after being left out at Liverpool last weekend. Obafemi Martins has a groin injury but is fit enough to take his place on the bench. Marvin Emnes is a surprise selection in the Boro starting line-up.[LNB] Your referee tonight is Mike Dean from Wirral.[LNB] Middlesbrough meanwhile star with the following line-up: Jones, Hoyte, Bates, Huth, Taylor, Downing, O'Neil, Shawky, Sanli, Emnes, Alves. On the bench are: Turnbull, Aliadiere, King, Arca, Adam Johnson, McMahon, Grounds[LNB] Newcastle line up this tonight: Harper, Beye, Steven Taylor, Bassong, Duff, Guthrie, Butt, Nolan, Gutierrez, Owen, Viduka. Subs are: Krul, Coloccini, Martins, Ryan Taylor, Lovenkrands, LuaLua, Carroll[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports