Source: FOOTYMAD
Newcastle Utd 2 PSV Eindhoven 2
I have always been very 'iffy' about pre-season friendlies. The golden rule to every player is "DON'T GET INJURED", and you never see the best of games. But this one had its moments. FOOTYMAD DOWNTIME Saturday, 31st July 2010 Please accept our sincerest apologies for the downtime on Saturday afternoon, again caused by a failure of Easynet's hardware. NEWCASTLE UTD 2 PSV EINDHOVEN 2 St James’ Park paid tribute to Sir Bobby Robson, and it took the Newcastle players the entire first half to get themselves over the occasion. This was the first real test for Chris Hughton's players, with no disrespect to either Carlisle Utd or Norwich City. This is the shape of the side that will be facing the Premiership next season, and PSV had played a lot more football in the build up to this game than their hosts. Some have suggested there haven't been enough pre-season friendlies to get the team playing together, but there is always the risk of losing players ... and we only have to look at what happened to Steven Taylor ... who is out for three months. It's a tough decision to make - and perhaps behind-closed-doors fixtures are the best option. PSV were a footballing force in the first-half, while Newcastle never got out of the blocks. When James Perch hacked down Ola Tiovonen on the edge of the box, referee Mike Jones could have handed him a red card. But, being a friendly, he got off with it. But Tiovonen took the kick himself and scored past Steve Harper. Balazs Dzsudzsak played a one-two with centre-forward Marcus Berg, then tried a crack from 25 yards, and his shot could hardly have been better placed. Twice Berg caught Jose Enrique overplaying and exploited the gaps at the back, but Perch was just as bad on the right, and was caught lacking pace on several occasions. Peter Lovenkrands cut in from the right and should have found Shola Ameobi but went for glory and failed to lift it over goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson. 2-0 down, the second half had us wondering if we were in for a roasting or if Hughton had kicked some arses at half-time. It was the latter. Ameobi’s cross fell to Perch near the byline. Isaksson pushed his shot into the path of Ryan Taylor, who finished well. Tim Krul produced a good save from Stanislav Manolev, but Newcastle started to find their feet. Danny Guthrie’s volley forced a decent stop from Isaksson, and then Leon Best nodded in the equaliser from a free-kick. Xisco could have given the fans something to shout about when he cut in from the right, but he blew his chance. So why were we so poor in the first half? Probably the pairing of Nolan and Smith in the centre of the park, and things didn't get any better until Guthrie moved to the middle. Nolan tried, but didn't get much satisfaction ... Smith couldn't be bothered. Smith is a major concern to me. He says he hasn't the legs to be the striker he was in his early days, when he could cut through a defence like shit off a stick, but he doesn't seem as though he wants to run at all! When the game calls for someone to put a foot on the ball, he just wades in with both feet flying, doing nobody any good. PSV played some quality football, short simple passes and creating space for each other, while the Toon players looked laboured getting hold of the ball. The second half saw a lot of improvement with Ryan Taylor playing quality balls, and (dare I say it) Xisco seemed to make an impact when he came on. He worked well with Enrique along the wing and seemed he wanted to impress. Perch certainly had a 'bad day at black rock', and he looked a bundle of nerves from the kick-off. Either he settles in quick or the big occasion could be too much for him. The two central defenders, Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Williamson, spent all their time clearing up his mistakes. Nolan came good in the second half, and so much will depend on him this coming season. Peter Lovenkrands looked well off the pace, but on the plus side, Shola won numerous headers and put himself about. The conclusion: Shocking in the first half, but at least they had the bottle to fight back, unlike the disaster at Orient a year ago. NEWCASTLE UNITED 2010/11 Pre-season: CARLISLE 0 NEWCASTLE 3 (Best, Ranger, Vuckic)Harper (Krul 46), Tavernier (R Taylor 46), Coloccini (S Taylor 46) (Henderson 81), Williamson (Perch 46), Enrique (Ferguson 46), Inman (Routledge 46), Smith (Barton 46), Nolan (Guthrie 46), LuaLua (Vuckic 46) , Carroll (Best 46), Lovenkrands (Ranger 46). Pre-season: NORWICH CITY 2 NEWCASTLE 1 (Ameobi)Krul, Taylor (Routledge 45), Tavernier, Coloccini (Williamson 45), Diaz (Ferguson 57); Ranger (Xisco 45), Barton (Smith 45), Nolan (Guthrie 45), Vuckic (Edmundsson 72); Best (Lovenkrands 45), Carroll (Ameobi 45). Pre-season: NEWCASTLE 2 PSV EINDHOVEN 2 (R.Taylor, Best) Harper, Perch, Enrique, Coloccini, Williamson, Guthrie, Nolan, Smith, Ryan Taylor, Lovenkrands, Ameobi. Subs: Carroll, Xisco, Best, LuaLua, Krul, Vuckic, Ranger, Donaldson, Tavernier.
