Source: Northern_Echo
Chelsea 3 Newcastle United 4
FIRST the bad news. Chris Hughton travelled to Stamford Bridge last night and discovered a team that was better than the Newcastle United side that beat Everton at the weekend. Now the good news.[LNB] That team was Newcastle United reserves.[LNB] Shorn of ten of the players that triumphed at Goodison Park, a side that could realistically be described as the Magpies' second string ended a 24-year wait for a victory at Chelsea in barely-believable fashion.[LNB] Kevin Keegan's Newcastle team made a habit of recording 4-3 scorelines, only to finish on the wrong end of them.[LNB] As Hughton can now attest, seven-goal thrillers are even more enjoyable when you're the side scoring four.[LNB] Shola Ameobi's stoppagetime header capped a remarkable evening that saw the Magpies establish a two-goal advantage, throw it away in the final 20 minutes, and then salvage the most dramatic of victories right at the death.[LNB] Ameobi's first goal of the evening followed strikes from Nile Ranger and Ryan Taylor as Newcastle overcame the concession of an early Patrick van Aanholt goal to inflict Chelsea's first domestic home defeat since February and book a place in the fourth round of the Carling Cup.[LNB] Nicolas Anelka's stoppagetime double plunged the Magpies' victory into doubt, but with the Magpies having outplayed their opponents for large periods of the game, few could grumble about the merits of their success.[LNB] Chelsea made changes of their own, but the strength of the home side's starting lineup was enough to make last night's result Hughton's greatest as a manager. Goodness only knows how he will go about selecting his team for Sunday's home game with Stoke.[LNB] The night ended in breathless fashion, and it began just as dramatically, with Chelsea breaking the deadlock in the opening six minutes.[LNB] Ranger dawdled too long in possession on the edge of his own area, enabling van Aanholt to nip in and steal the ball.[LNB] The full-back, who made seven Championship appearances for the Magpies in a month-long loan last season, played a slick one-two with Gael Kakuta and, with the help of a deflection off Sol Campbell, directed a low drive past Tim Krul.[LNB] It was not the first difficult moment of Campbell's debut the veteran had already collided with Krul as he attempted to head clear but thanks to an accomplished display of positioning, it was just about the last.[LNB] Having initially been stung by Chelsea's opener, Newcastle's response to their early setback was positive.[LNB] Campbell almost grabbed an equaliser within 60 seconds of van Aanholt's goal, heading Taylor's cross wide despite being completely unmarked eight yards out, and with Ameobi causing the inexperienced Jeffrey Bruma no end of problems up front, the visitors quickly turned the game on its head.[LNB] Chelsea had gone almost six months without conceding a goal at Stamford Bridge like buses on the King's Road, however, they suddenly shipped two in six minutes.[LNB] Ranger scored the first, popping up at the back post to turn in Shane Ferguson's cross after Peter Lovenkrands had failed to connect with the ball in the middle of the area.[LNB] Ranger's finish might have been scruffy, but the lengthy passing move that led up to it was extremely easy on the eye.[LNB] Suddenly, Newcastle were buoyant, and when Bruma wrestled Ameobi to the floor on the edge of the area in the 33rd minute, the stage was set for an even more dramatic twist.[LNB] Taylor scored a screamer at Accrington last month, but that was nothing compared to the strike that gave the Magpies the lead last night.[LNB] Twenty yards out, and from the left-hand corner of the box, the full-back hammered a ferocious free-kick that left former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Ross Turnbull clutching for air. Rampant on the counter attack, the visitors were humiliating their hosts at their own game.[LNB] Their next challenge was to repel a refreshed Chelsea at the start of the second half, and the anticipated bombardment arrived within 33 seconds of the break as Coloccini was forced to block a stinging drive from Yuri Zhirkov.[LNB] How better to take some of the sting out of their opponents' attacking, though, than to calmly score a third in the opening four minutes of the second period[LNB] There appeared little on when Ameobi received possession in the middle of the Chelsea half, but after shuffling the ball this way and that, the striker casually rolled a side-footed 25-yard shot into the bottom righthand corner of the net. Judging by his subsequent lack of reaction, it is tempting to think even he could not quite comprehend what he had done.[LNB] Chelsea's night worsened further when half-time substitute Salomon Kalou was stretchered off with an injured hamstring in the 56th minute, and the hosts were reduced to ten men shortly after when Yossi Benayoun joined the ranks of walking wounded as he collapsed clutching his leg.[LNB] They remained dangerous however, and Anelka's brace threatened to take the game into injury time.[LNB] First, the Frenchman sidefooted home adroitly after van Aanholt found space on the left, then, after Mike Williamson was penalised for a tug on his shirt, he showed commendable composure to roll an impudent penalty to a static Krul's right.[LNB] Chelsea's comeback almost scaled ridiculous heights when Paulo Ferreira cracked an 88th-minute volley against the upright, but while there was to be a final sting in the nail, it belonged to Newcastle.[LNB] The clock had ticked to 90 when Gutierrez delivered a corner from the left, and Ameobi ghosted ahead of his marker to glance home a header at the front post.[LNB] A frantic evening had finally reached its climax.[LNB] Matchfacts Goals: Van Aanholt (6mins, 1-0), Ranger (27, 1-1), R Taylor (33, 1-2), Ameobi (49, 1-3; 90, 3-4), Anelka (70, 2-3; 86, pen, 3-3) Bookings: R Taylor (11mins, foul), Bruma (32, foul), Ameobi (42, foul) Referee: Phil Dowd (Stoke) 6 Attendance: 41,511 Entertainment: *****[LNB] CHELSEA (4-3-3): Turnbull 4; Ferreira 5, Bruma 4, Terry 4 (Alex 46, 5), van Aanholt 7; Benayoun 5, Ramires 4, Zhirkov 6; Sturridge 6, ANELKA 8, Kakuta 5 (Kalou 46, 5 (McEachran 56, 6)). Subs (not used): Cech (gk), Clifford, Mellis, Chalobah.[LNB] NEWCASTLE (4-4-2): Krul 6; R Taylor 7 (Tiote 63, 5), Campbell 6, Coloccini 7 (Williamson 63, 5), Ferguson 6 (Barton 90); Ranger 8, Smith 7, Vuckic 6, Gutierrez 8; AMEOBI 9, Lovenkrands 8. Subs (not used): Soderberg (gk), Nolan, Ben Arfa, Carroll.[LNB] MAN OF THE MATCH SHOLA Ameobi the striker was just about unplayable as he scored two excellent goals at either end of the second half.[LNB]
