Source: Daily_Mail
Hull City 1 Newcastle 1: Magpies need Owen to fire after priceless point
MIchael Owen returned from injury for Newcastle[LNB]'s last nine games this time last year and scored seven goals to help Kevin Keegan's side to safety. This season they are going to need something very similar, with relegation even more of a threat and without the galvanising Keegan to enthuse them. [LNB]Owen is out of contract this summer and likely to leave St James' Park, with £20,000 aweek less than his current £102,000 on offer. [LNB]He certainly will if they go down, a prospect that bears little thinking about for theGeordie faithful and owner Mike Ashley, with all its financial consequences.[LNB][LNB] Sinking feeling: Geovanni (right) beats Newcastle keeper Stephen Harper[LNB] Hull v Newcastle: How the game unfolded[LNB]HULL NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB]NEWCASTLE NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB]If Newcastle are to stay up, and Owen is to give them a parting gift, they need to feedthe England striker more than the mere scraps he dined on yesterday. He barely hada touch in his 73 minutes after missing five games with an ankle injury, and now theymust hope he maintains his record of one goal in every two starts for the club nextweekend.[LNB] That match is against Arsenal, however, and with Chelsea providing their next Premier League opposition, Newcastle could find themselves in the bottom three before long, having taken only two points from four games.[LNB]'It's going to be a tough run-in,' admitted Newcastle assistant manager Chris Hughton, agreeing that there is likely to be much expectation now on Owen. 'Michaelaccepts that. He's a big player and it goes with the territory. He will be better for getting a good hour under his belt.'[LNB]Sadly, Newcastle seemed too ready to settle for a single point, as ready as their grateful opponents, after Steven Taylor equalised Geovanni's early goal. On top, andmore worryingly, they looked to be lacking sufficient quality to go and win the game.[LNB]It was certainly an opportunity missed, with Hull[LNB]having the worst home record in the Premier League. [LNB]After a promising start Hull, too, were content to survive the story of their season and could have been there for the taking. [LNB][LNB] Wall of shame: Newcastle's Nicky Btt, Alan Smith, Steve Taylor and Sebastien Bassong form a semblance of a wall[LNB]'It was a scrappy affair, not a greatspectacle, with a lot of nervoustension,' admitted Hull manager Phil Brown, whose side are in a relegation scrap that involves the bottom half of the table. 'It's not about quality football at this stage of the season.'[LNB]He was right about that. During a fiery encounter at St James' Park in January, when Hull put Newcastle out of the FA Cup they face Arsenal in a quarter-final at theEmirates on Tuesday Brown and opposite number Joe Kinnear, now recuperating from heart surgery, had a fiery altercation. As a legacy of that encounter, Hull dulyemerged imbued with the passion their leader talked of before the game and were ahead in eight minutes.[LNB]A few weeks ago, Geovanni fell out with the manager after being substituted. Now he was back in favour and how. First, the Brazilian switched the ball to Craig Fagan wide on the left, then when the cross came in, was in the right place at the far post, with Sebastien Bassong caught out of position, to guide a header past Steve Harper.[LNB]Newcastle looked rocky and ropey. Geovanni might have doubled the lead from a free-kick 25 yards out but his shot curled wide. [LNB]As the interval approached, though, Hull grew cautious and it proved costly. Having barely threatened, Newcastle finally got men forward for a long throw but instead the ball went to Nicky Butt and, from his cross, Taylor clipped a cute volley home at the near post. [LNB] Hull v Newcastle: How the game unfolded[LNB]HULL NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB]NEWCASTLE NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB][LNB]The introduction of Manucho in the second half stirred Hull anew but it was short-lived, Newcastle coming closer to winning a game from which neither deserved three points. Jonas Gutierrez curled a shot wastefully over the bar and Obafemi Martins nipped in between the dithering Sam Ricketts and Michael Turner but clipped hisattempt wide.[LNB]That was about it, though, ambition running down with the clock. The Geordie nation now turns their lonely eyes to Owen. [LNB][LNB] Point made: Newcastle's Steven Taylor and Michael Owen (left) celebrate the equaliser[LNB][LNB] [LNB]
