Source: Northern_Echo
Newcastle 2 Watford 0
Newcastle 2 Watford 0 THE city of Newcastle seemed to be hit by a heavy dose of boxing fever on Saturday. Heavyweight champion David Haye paraded his world title belt to supporters during the half-time interval at St James' Park, while Amir Khan later successfully defended his light-welterweight title at the MetroRadio Arena knocking out Dmitriy Salita. In between Newcastle maintained the pugilist premise when they climbed off the ropes to provide a sucker punch to any aspirations Watford may have had of gaining victory. The performance, like so many of United's this term, was hardly convincing. But the Magpies displayed a steely resolve when going down to ten men, following Kevin Nolan's dismissal three minutes after the break, which has been endemic in their season. The triumph was the sixth in succession, the first time the team has achieved such a winning run since Kevin Keegan's side did so back in 1996. The manner in which United equalled that six-game triumphant sequence may not have been as aesthetically pleasing as Keegan's marauders, but it has been just as effective. The hosts created a couple of opportunities to score before Peter Lovenkrands benefited from Marlon Harewood's endeavour to tap into an empty net after 20 minutes. But Newcastle failed to build on that early promise and allowed the visitors to get back into the contest. Malky Mackay's young side became more prominent as the match developed and really should have taken a share of the spoils after dominating for much of the second half. A combination of poor finishing, desperate defending and competent shot stopping from Steve Harper, however, took the sting out of the Hornets' punch. And just as Watford edged closer to finding an opening, substitute Fabrice Pancrate provided an uppercut seven minutes from time when, after a little trickery, he turned his marker and blasted in off the crossbar to leave the visitors kissing the canvas. Manager Chris Hughton believes the result and performance was his most satisfying of the season. We made life a little bit difficult for ourselves, said Hughton. We could have made it easier for ourselves when we got in the final third. But when you go down to ten men and you get a result like that there is always a team feeling because only the team could draw a result like that. When you know you're under pressure, you have to be resilient and the team can draw from that. The United boss also reserved some praise for Pancrate and hailed his new recruit's versatility after the victory which saw Newcastle record an 11th clean sheet. He is a player of high energy but he's also a player of discipline, said Hughton, who laughed off reports Laurent Robert was returning to the club. In the period when we put him on, defensively, he got back into good areas and he had good shape. But he's also got good energy to break forward and the goal was a special one. The timing of the goal was important too as we were under a lot of pressure and you've got to look for your outlets because otherwise you will get pinned down. But I thought Jonas (Gutierrrez) and Fabrice both gave us an outlet. United skipper Alan Smith was also impressed with Pancrate and revealed how the manager is getting the very best out of the French flyer in training. It is nice for him to get on the scoresheet, but his all round play was just as impressive as his goal, said Smith. In training Chris does well putting him up against Jose (Enrique) and they have a right battle. You don't get many left backs as good as Jose in this league so it is always a good test for him. It is great that they compete against each other day in day out in training. That fills you with confidence because you know that training is sometimes more difficult than the opposition you are playing against. We have got to keep the intensity as it is, which every team Chris plays will go out and express itself and show a good spirit. Should Newcastle maintain this level of performance in their next bout at Coventry on Wednesday and the 26 that follow they will claim the title. If recent form is anything to go by, you would expect them to go the distance. March facts Goals: 1-0: Lovenkrands (20, tap in from eight yards after Harewood tackle on goalkeeper fell kindly for him) 2-0: Pancrate (83, the winger cut inside his marker and unleashed a thunderous shot off the crossbar) Bookings: Nolan (27, foul), Cathcart (57, foul), Lansbury (63, foul) Sending-off: Nolan (48, second yellow, foul) Referee: Jonathan Moss (Leeds): Fussy at times and upset the home crowd when sending Nolan off but he was left with little alternative 6 Attendance: 43,050 Entertainment: NEWCASTLE: (4-4-2): 8HARPER: Pulled off several outstanding saves to keep his side in the contest when only 1-0 up ; 6 Simpson: A picture of steadiness 6 Coloccini: The Argentine defender found Helguson a bit of a handful but coped overall 6 Taylor S: Like his teammate, had an uncomfortable spell but a superb last ditch tackle kept United in front when the score was 1-0 7 Enrique: Worked hard up and down the pitch; 5 Guthrie: Passing not up to his usual high standard 4 Nolan: First booking might have been harsh but second was deserved 6 Smith: Didn't have it all his own way in the middle of the park 6 Gutierrez: Worked his socks off up and down the line; 6 Harewood: Got his rewards for chasing a lost cause with the opener 6 Lovenkrands: Pace and movement troubled Hornets' back four Subs Carroll (for Harewood 56): Strong and brave 6 Butt (for Lovenkrands 65): Helped United to shut up shop 5 Pancrate (for Guthrie 71): A stunning first goal for the club (not used): Krul, Khizanishvili, Taylor R, Ranger WATFORD ( 4-4-2): Loach 4; Hodson 6, Mariappa 6, Cathcart 5, Doyley 5; Cleverley 6, Lansbury 5 (Henderson 84), Cowie 6 ; Graham 6 (Ellington 5, 77), HELGUSON 7 (not used): Lee, Severin, Harley, Bennett, Demerit MAN OF THE MATCH STEVE HARPER the goalkeeper kept United in the contest with several great stops.