FOOTBALL Live

Saturday December 8, 2007 Finished St. James' Park

Logo 2 - Logo 1

Newcastle United

  • Martins 35’
  • Beye 90’

Birmingham City

  • Jerome 8’
  1. Beye leaves Toon in raptures

    Beye leaves Toon in raptures

    Habib Beye's dramatic last-minute header gave Newcastle a 2-1 victory over Birmingham after a tight game at a rain-lashed St James's Park. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Newcastle United
    • Birmingham City
    • 90+5' And the whistle goes! It's cruel on Alex McLeish's men, but this could be a very imporant three points for Sam Allardyce and Newcastle. 2-1 the final score.
    • 90+3' A late, late change for Newcastle. Martins makes way for Jose Enrique.
    • 90' GOAL! 2-1 Newcastle! They've snatched it at the death! Emre curls in a corner from the right, and Beye guides it home with his head at the near post! Cue jubilant scenes on the Newcastle bench and in the stands.
    • 89' Emre steps up... and hits his free-kick straight into the wall! Huge shouts for a hand-ball, but Rob Styles is having none of it. And replays suggest that Jerome stopped it with his arm!
    • 88' N'Zogbia drives in from the left before being chopped down by Muamba! Free-kick to Newcastle, 22 yards from goal on the left-hand side of the box.
    • 87' Corner to Birmingham on the left-hand side. Larsson crosses to the back post, but Newcastle clear. It's all pretty uninspiring here now.
    • 85' Five minutes remain, and the home fans are urging their side forward. Alan Smith fouls Mehdi Nafti, and Birmingham have a free-kick on the edge of their own box.
    • 84' Great work from Martins! He cuts inside onto his right foot and curls in a low shot, but Taylor scrambles to his left to palm it away!
    • 83' Larsson swings a corner in from the left with his right foot, but it's cleared away.
    • 81' A booking for Sebastian Larsson. Looks like he said something to the ref. Something unkind, presumably.
    • 80' Jerome attacks a corner from the right, but it bounces off the top of his head and out for a goal kick. Ten minutes left! Hard to see where a goal is going to come from at the moment.
    • 78' Dear oh dear! Jerome races down the Birmingham left and Joey Barton takes him out with a shamelessly cynical tackle. And he wonders why he's so unpopular...
    • 77' A positive change by Alex McLeish. Mikael Forssell comes on for Daniel de Ridder.
    • 76' Martins shoots from the edge of the box, but it flashes over.
    • 74' Confusion at the back from Newcastle! Rozehnal and Taylor allow a long ball to bounce with Jerome advancing, but it makes its way through to Given, much to the home fans' relief.
    • 72' Newcastle make another change. Geremi is replaced by Emre.
    • 71' Chance for Newcastle! Smith brings down a cross from Beye at the back post - and there's more than a hint of hand-ball - but his left-footed half-volley goes over!
    • 69' The home fans aren't happy. Newcastle's approach play is woefully uninventive. Birmingham, by contrast, are playing some lovely stuff at times.
    • 68' Newcastle win a free-kick inside their own half and Barton wants to take it quickly, but he hurries it and it floats out for a throw-in on the far side.
    • 66' Great cross from N'Zogbia, but there's no-one there! The Frenchman plays a low ball right along the edge of the six yard box, but none of his team-mates anticipate it and the chance goes begging.
    • 64' Newcastle seeing a bit more of the ball now. Barton gets free down the left and puts in a great cross with the outside of his right foot, but it's just too high.
    • 62' A change for the visitors. McSheffrey is replaced by Olivier Kapo.
    • 61' Beye chases a long ball down the Newcastle right and is challenged by two defenders, but despite his appeals for a corner, a goal kick is given.
    • 59' Martins goes flying into a couple of challenges, but he went in with his studs showing in the last one and the ref awards a free-kick.
    • 58' N'Zogbia crosses from the left, Birmingham clear. Milner crosses from the left, Birmingham clear.
    • 56' Newcastle go close! Milner cuts inside from the left and shoots low and hard across goal, but it's got just too much bend on it and goes wide.
    • 55' Marvellous football from Jerome! He exchanges passes with McSheffrey, speeds into the box and lays a left-footed cross across goal, but Rozehnal slides in to put it out for a corner, which Given gathers.
    • 54' Birmingham seeing most of the ball at the moment, and they're playing some decent stuff at times.
    • 52' There's a slightly subdued feel to the second half so far. Still a few hefty tackles flying around though.
    • 51' What a chance! Larsson exchanges passes with Jerome inside the Newcastle box, but from 15 yards out and with only the 'keeper to beat he lashes his shot wide! That was a glorious chance.
    • 49' Good stuff from Fabrice Muamba! He picks the ball up in midfield and surges forward before letting fly, but his well-struck right-footer goes just over!
    • 47' McSheffrey gallops down the left and goes down under a challenge by Beye, but the ref awards a goal kick.
    • 46' The second half gets underway!
    • 45+1' Rob Styles's whistle sounds and brings the first half to a close. That Cameron Jerome goal really shocked the home side, but they've looked much more dangerous since Mark Viduka's introduction. 1-1 at the break.
    • 44' Both sides attacking gamely when they have the ball. This augurs well for the second half.
    • 42' Birmingham trying to raise the stakes now. McSheffrey attacks down the left and wins a corner, but Given claims it.
    • 40' What a chance! N'Zogbia whips in another fantastic cross from the right, Milner arrives unmarked in the six yard box and gets a touch but Taylor tips it over the bar! The resulting corner is cleared to the edge of the area, and Milner's right-footed shot cannons off the crossbar! Two lucky escapes for Birmingham.
    • 39' Newcastle on the attack now! The ball finds its way to Martins, but he drags his shot wide from the edge of the box.
    • 37' Chance for Birmingham straight away! Daniel de Ridder crosses from the right, and Jerome turns excellently to get his shot in, but there's not enough power on it and Given saves!
    • 35' Martins steps up... AND IT'S THERE! Taylor flies to his left and gets a strong hand on the ball, but he can't prevent it going in off the post! 1-1!
    • 34' PENALTY TO NEWCASTLE! Matthew Sadler challenges Martins for a low cross from the left, and the Nigerian goes down! Birmingham are furious!
    • 33' Great play by N'Zogbia! He holds off Ridgewell, drives forward and shoots from distance, but his shot skews off his left foot and goes high and wide.
    • 31' Newcastle attack, and Viduka's at the heart of it already. A cross from the right flies up into the air and Taylor has to fist it clear!
    • 30' Newcastle have been forced into an early change, and it's an attacking one. Nicky Butt goes off to be replaced by Mark Viduka.
    • 28' This is more like it from the home side! The fans are really starting to get behind them now.
    • 27' Enterprising play from Milner! He carves his way into the box from the left-hand side, but his left-footed shot is dragged across the face of goal and wide!
    • 25' What a save! N'Zogbia swings in a free-kick from wide on the right and Martins gets a touch on it right in front of Taylor, but the Northern Irishman sticks out a hand to make a terrific stop!
    • 24' Newcastle back in possession, but there's precious little imagination to their attacking play. One suspects Obafemi Martins did not expect to be used as an old-fashioned target man when he signed from Internazionale...
    • 23' Good play from Charles N'Zogbia. He drifts in from the left and shapes a cross towards Martins at the back post, but Taylor gathers it at the second attempt.
    • 22' This time the corner comes in from the right, and it's an easy catch for Maik Taylor.
    • 21' The corner is cleared, Milner puts it back into the box and Schmitz hacks it away for another corner!
    • 20' Geremi shoots from the edge of the box, and it's deflected wide for a corner.
    • 18' Chance for Newcastle! Geremi whips in a corner from the left, it eludes Martins but Rozehnal follows up at the back post to crash a header against the woodwork! But the ref's whistle had already gone for a push, and it's a free-kick to the visitors.
    • 17' Signs off restlessness from the home fans. They'll be hoping the performance against Arsenal wasn't a false dawn.
    • 16' Alan Smith and Liam Ridgewell tangle in the Birmingham box as they challenge for a high ball, but Ridgewell manages to hold him off and clear.
    • 14' Oh dear! Sloppy play by Newcastle allows Cameron Jerome to intercept the ball in midfield and break forward, but his attempted pass to McSheffrey is cut out and Newcastle clear.
    • 13' How will Newcastle respond to this setback? That goal has done a good job of quietening the home fans. Habib Beye cuts inside from the right wing and plays a low ball into the Birmingham box, but it's easily cleared.
    • 12' Newcastle looking to hit back. Milner curls in a cross from the left, but it bounces straight into Maik Taylor's arms.
    • 8' GOAL! 1-0 Birmingham! And it's a soft goal to concede. Cameron Jerome chases a long ball forward by Rafael Schmitz, out-paces David Rozehnal and rounds Shay Given before coolly rolling the ball into the empty net! A great start for McLeish's men.
    • 7' Larsson looking to make an inroad wide on the far touchline, but Habib Beye shepherds the ball out of play for a goal kick.
    • 5' A spell of possession for the visitors. They're knocking it around confidently, but Newcastle stand firm.
    • 4' Larsson raids forward for McLeish's men, but Steven Taylor stops him with a well-timed challenge.
    • 3' James Milner attacks down the Newcastle left, but he's challenged as he attempts a cross and the ball goes out for a goal kick.
    • 2' Free-kick for Birmingham just inside the Newcastle half after Nicky Butt brings down Sebastian Larsson.
    • 1' Warm applause for Alex McLeish as he emerges from the tunnel, while Big Sam takes his customary seat in the stands. And we're off!
    • - The teams are on the pitch, and we're moments away from kick-off. Newcastle are in their famous black and white-striped shirts, black shorts and black and white socks, while the away team are in blue shirts with a white front, white shorts and blue socks.
    • - Like most of the country, Newcastle is being lashed by heavy rain. It looks like we're in for a soggy afternoon.
    • - Both teams go into this game off the back of morale-boosting results in the league. Birmingham stunned Spurs in Alex McLeish's first game in charge last weekend, beating them 3-2 at White Hart Lane thanks to a superb last-minute goal from Sebastian Larsson. Newcastle produced one of their best performances of the season to hold league leaders Arsenal 1-1 at home on Wednesday night.
    • - Gary McSheffrey returns from injury to start for Birmingham, but captain Damien Johnson is not yet ready to feature for the first team.
    • - With Stephen Carr (hamstring), Abdoulaye Faye (calf), Claudio Cacapa (knee) and Michael Owen (thigh) all missing for the home side, Sam Allardyce keeps faith with the team that drew against Arsenal in mid-week.
    • - Referee: Rob Styles (Hampshire)
    • - Birmingham: Taylor; Kelly, Schmitz, Ridgewell, Sadler; De Ridder, Larsson, Nafti, Muamba; McSheffrey, Jerome
    • - Newcastle: Given; Beye, Taylor, Rozehnal, N'Zogbia; Barton, Butt, Geremi; Milner, Martins, Smith
    • - Good afternoon and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of this Premier League clash from a rain-soaked St James's Park. Kick-off is at 15:00 GMT, so join us then.

  • Team Stats

    Newcastle United Stats Birmingham City
    56% Possession 43%
    17 Shots 6
    5 Shots on target 2
    1 Saves 3
    6 Corners 5
    8 Fouls 11
    2 Offsides 1
    1 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 0
    16 Tackles 27
    296 Accurate passes 191
    56 Bad passes 52

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Newcastle United
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Shay Given 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0
      27 Steven Taylor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 2 2
      21 Habib Beye 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 14 1 4
      4 David Rozehnal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 38 2 0
      7 Joey Barton 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 37 9 1
      22 Nicky Butt 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9 2 0
      14 Charles N'Zogbia 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 27 14 1
      20 Geremi Nijtap 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 37 3 3
      16 James Milner 0 5 1 0 0 1 0 26 11 1
      17 Alan Smith 0 1 0 3 1 1 0 22 6 1
      9 Obafemi Martins 1 5 3 3 2 0 0 13 1 1
      13 Steve Harper 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      5 Belozoglu Emre 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 10 3 1
      3 José Enrique Sanchez Diaz 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      36 Mark Viduka 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9 2 1
      30 David Edgar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Birmingham City
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Maik Taylor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 4 0
      6 Liam Ridgewell 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 14 2 4
      3 Matthew Sadler 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 21 12 1
      2 Stephen Kelly 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 12 1 2
      5 Rafael Schmitz 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 19 5 4
      12 Mehdi Nafti 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 35 5 2
      26 Fabrice Muamba 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 15 3 4
      20 Daniel De Ridder 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0
      7 Sebastian Larsson 0 1 0 1 3 0 0 18 5 2
      10 Cameron Jerome 1 2 2 0 1 1 0 9 4 3
      11 Gary McSheffrey 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 16 8 3
      13 Colin Doyle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      9 Mikael Forssell 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 0
      8 Garry O'Connor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      23 Olivier Kapo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 2
      21 Stuart Parnaby 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • 90' GOAL! 2-1 Newcastle! They've snatched it at the death! Emre curls in a corner from the right, and Beye guides it home with his head at the near post! Cue jubilant scenes on the Newcastle bench and in the stands.
    • 89' Emre steps up... and hits his free-kick straight into the wall! Huge shouts for a hand-ball, but Rob Styles is having none of it. And replays suggest that Jerome stopped it with his arm!
    • 88' N'Zogbia drives in from the left before being chopped down by Muamba! Free-kick to Newcastle, 22 yards from goal on the left-hand side of the box.
    • 84' Great work from Martins! He cuts inside onto his right foot and curls in a low shot, but Taylor scrambles to his left to palm it away!
    • 71' Chance for Newcastle! Smith brings down a cross from Beye at the back post - and there's more than a hint of hand-ball - but his left-footed half-volley goes over!
    • 66' Great cross from N'Zogbia, but there's no-one there! The Frenchman plays a low ball right along the edge of the six yard box, but none of his team-mates anticipate it and the chance goes begging.
    • 56' Newcastle go close! Milner cuts inside from the left and shoots low and hard across goal, but it's got just too much bend on it and goes wide.
    • 55' Marvellous football from Jerome! He exchanges passes with McSheffrey, speeds into the box and lays a left-footed cross across goal, but Rozehnal slides in to put it out for a corner, which Given gathers.
    • 51' What a chance! Larsson exchanges passes with Jerome inside the Newcastle box, but from 15 yards out and with only the 'keeper to beat he lashes his shot wide! That was a glorious chance.
    • 40' What a chance! N'Zogbia whips in another fantastic cross from the right, Milner arrives unmarked in the six yard box and gets a touch but Taylor tips it over the bar! The resulting corner is cleared to the edge of the area, and Milner's right-footed shot cannons off the crossbar! Two lucky escapes for Birmingham.
    • 37' Chance for Birmingham straight away! Daniel de Ridder crosses from the right, and Jerome turns excellently to get his shot in, but there's not enough power on it and Given saves!
    • 35' Martins steps up... AND IT'S THERE! Taylor flies to his left and gets a strong hand on the ball, but he can't prevent it going in off the post! 1-1!
    • 34' PENALTY TO NEWCASTLE! Matthew Sadler challenges Martins for a low cross from the left, and the Nigerian goes down! Birmingham are furious!
    • 33' Great play by N'Zogbia! He holds off Ridgewell, drives forward and shoots from distance, but his shot skews off his left foot and goes high and wide.
    • 27' Enterprising play from Milner! He carves his way into the box from the left-hand side, but his left-footed shot is dragged across the face of goal and wide!
    • 25' What a save! N'Zogbia swings in a free-kick from wide on the right and Martins gets a touch on it right in front of Taylor, but the Northern Irishman sticks out a hand to make a terrific stop!
    • 18' Chance for Newcastle! Geremi whips in a corner from the left, it eludes Martins but Rozehnal follows up at the back post to crash a header against the woodwork! But the ref's whistle had already gone for a push, and it's a free-kick to the visitors.
    • 8' GOAL! 1-0 Birmingham! And it's a soft goal to concede. Cameron Jerome chases a long ball forward by Rafael Schmitz, out-paces David Rozehnal and rounds Shay Given before coolly rolling the ball into the empty net! A great start for McLeish's men.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Newcastle United

    Manager: Sam Allardyce

    Captain: Ndjitap Geremi

    On the Field

    • Given
    • Beye
    • Taylor
    • Rozehnal
    • N'Zogbia
    • Milner
    • Barton
    • Butt
    • Geremi
    • Martins
    • Smith

    Subs

    Injured

    • Owen
    • Babayaro
    • Duff
    • Ramage
    • Caçapa
    • Carr
    • Diagne-Faye

    Suspended

    None

  • Birmingham City

    Manager: Alex McLeish

    Captain: Liam Ridgewell

    On the Field

    • Taylor
    • Kelly
    • Schmitz
    • Ridgewell
    • Djourou
    • De Ridder
    • Larsson
    • Nafti
    • Muamba
    • McSheffrey
    • Jerome

    Subs

    • Melendez

    Injured

    • Johnson

    Suspended

    None