Source: FOOTYMAD
Harper Stars In Toon Shocker!
Steve Harper, who suffered shoulder ligament damage at Everton in September, yesterday played in a behind-closed-doors friendly for Newcastle's reserves at Leeds United. Newcastle's reserves were beaten 4-1 at Thorp Arch, with Joan Edmundsson on target for the Toon. Peter Beardsley: "Yes, a bad result but Steve Harper's performance was outstanding." Pardew named him on the bench ahead of youngster Ole Soderberg for the Liverpool game and he is set to challenge Tim Krul for the jersey this weekend. Alan Pardew: "It was good to have Stevie Harper on the bench – I asked him. "I felt it was important for him to be in the changing room, and the young goalie stepped to one side to let him do that. Tim made a great save, but you need that competition." Steve Harper: "Now I'm just getting the confidence in my shoulder up and testing myself more and more every day. "I'm just looking forward to getting back out there and having a game. "The physical side is 99 per cent there: the last one per cent is the mental side, getting over it, getting used to flying around again, which unfortunately does take time. "But hopefully I'll be back and giving the manager a headache. "I feel really good. It's great to be back training after 10 weeks of not diving around, and I must pay credit to the fantastic medical staff who have helped me." .
