FOOTBALL Live

Wednesday January 2, 2008 Finished St. James' Park

0 - 2

Newcastle United

Manchester City

  • Elano 38’
  • Gelson 76’
  1. City too good for Toon

    City too good for Toon

    Manchester City staged a magnificent smash-and-grab to defeat woeful Newcastle United 2-0 on their St James' Park patch, goals from Elano and substitute Gelson Fernandes earning Sven-Goran Eriksson's men a deserved victory. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Newcastle United
    • Manchester City
    • - Thank you for joining us for tonight's action. See you at the weekend for the FA Cup!!
    • 90+4' The whistle sounds on a poor second half, with the exception of the second goal. Things get worse for Big Sam in the Toon hot-seat, despite his recent vote of confidence.
    • 90' Four minutes of injury time to play in a very quiet St James'.
    • 88' Hart saves from Toon centre-half Taylor, who appeals to the referee for a penalty for the challenge by Dunne. The match slipping from Newcastle's grasp. Fernandes booked for unsporting behaviour.
    • 88' Last change: Vassell replaced by Rolando Bianchi.
    • 85' Milner tries to wriggle free in the penalty area but again it comes to nothing. Allardyce looks on, chewing gum and thinking furiously. It's all in vain, mate, at least tonight.
    • 81' Vassell and Cacapa clash heads and receive treatment for their injuries. The home fans are heading away from the ground, no doubt disgruntled.
    • 79' Newcastle orchestrate an attack, the ball breaking to Butt... his shot is like an arrow towards the top of the goal, tipped over by Given!!
    • 78' Vassell fouls Beye and moans about the decisions - the result? Yellow card.
    • 76' A pass over the top was held up well by sub Etuhu and he laid it on for Fernandes - on the pitch for 40 seconds when the ball hit the rigging - who placed it towards the far top corner with power. There was nothing that Given could do.
    • 76' A SECOND GOAL FOR CITY!! It is the substitute Fernandes!!
    • 75' Another away change: Gelson Fernandes on for Ireland.
    • 72' Newcastle sub: Faye makes way for Emre, who is welcomed by the fans. Faye will be off to the African Cup of Nations now with Senegal. Not at this second though, I would think.
    • 70' Man City change: Kelvin Etuhu for Elano. A break for the superstar after a hectic festive period.
    • 70' Newcastle look impotent in attack - they could do with some of Pele's wares, or perhaps the man himself - N'Zogbia bringing the latest effort to a halt by fouling Onuoha.
    • 65' Man City dink the ball around the area, winning a corner thanks to Petrov. Ireland, Vassell and Elano are linking very well, with Corluka also playing his part.
    • 64' Another home change in the offing: Spain Under-21 international Jose Enrique on for Duff.
    • 61' Cacapa with a run upfield, stopped by City captain Dunne... City break thanks to good work by Richards. Elano flicks it through towards Petrov, but there is a Toon man back to intercept.
    • 58' The game is a bit flat at present, but there are players on both teams that could add some penetration (hopefully) - just like that flurry of attacks in the first half.
    • 56' N'Zogbia tries to life the crowd and the match with a spontaneous effort from 25 yards out that flies wide. Hart was not unduly worried by that.
    • 52' A very slow start after the break as City sit back. The Toon come forward, looking for ways through a dense formation.
    • 48' That was almost a dream start to the second period for Mickey. The corner comes to nothing.
    • 47' N'Zogbia with a lovely diagonal ball through for OWEN... his shot is saved by Hart and the ball just runs wide!!
    • 46' The second half starts.
    • - Mickey Owen is out on the pitch and warming up... and he will come on for Martins.
    • 45+3' The half-time whistle sounds and there are a few boos from the St James' faithful. A good half for the blue half of Madchester.
    • 45+2' Petrov lines up a free-kick - Atkinson awarded a foul after the incident in fact, though for something else - and it heads past the wall but safely into the arms of Given on the floor.
    • 45' Corluka is hurt on the floor and referee Martin Atkinson stops play. He was caught accidentally by Nicky Butt.
    • 43' Another brilliant move by the away team as Vassell and Ireland combine to line one up for Elano again 10 yards out... he cannot quite get to it. Eventually Vedran Corluka tries his luck - but drags a powerful shot wide.
    • 41' Abdoulaye Faye on the touchline, winning the ball - before Elano flies in and has a wild kick at the Senegalese!! He is lucky to only get a booking for that. Right in front of the dugouts too.
    • 40' Newcastle stunned then by that strike from the Brazil maestro. He tucked it inside the far post low down. Big Sam must be worried for his job.
    • 38' Elano passes to Ireland, who plays it on to Vassell... the little striker tees it up for ELANO... GOAL FOR CITY!!
    • 37' Dunne leaves the field with an injury.
    • 37' Duff put through by Viduka... the offside flag goes up, incorrrectly, before Nedum Onuoha gets a bit of contact on the Duffer and brings him down. He's lucky - he was the last man.
    • 34' Petrov menacing again on the left, forcing a great tackle from Beye.
    • 32' Duff attacks the left side of the penalty area and shoots over the near-post top corner. No special star for that one, although it was unlucky.
    • 30' Petrov takes possession on the left for Eriksson's outfit and hits a cracking left-footed drive that Shay Given gets a palm to - diverting it over for a corner!!
    • 28' The Zog again on the left after good retrieval work by Duff, turning his man to earn space inside the box again and fire a shot that Hart is down to save at his near post. Scintillating stuff from the Frenchman.
    • 27' N'Zogbia breaks into the area and slides a ball across goal... no one there for Newcastle!! That was in between Hart and his defence, begging to be finished off.
    • 25' Lovely backheel from Viduka to put in Martins and complete a one-two... he should shoot from the angle on the left, but hesitates and Richard Dunne is back to perform a flawless sliding tackle!! This match has awoken.
    • 22' Petrov cuts inside and feeds a pass to Vassell, who flicks it over to Elano... he chests it and volleys a yard wide. More good attacking play.
    • 21' Immediately the play swings to the other end where Martins smacks a shot like a bullet that Hart does well to get to and hold. That one was shifting!
    • 20' Ireland with space to attack the last man after Claudio Cacapa makes a mess of a pass back to his central defensive team-mate Steven Taylor... he twists this way and that then tries to off-load to Elano, only for Beye to get back and intercept. He should have shot.
    • 18' Elano looks to strike from over 20 yards out and it is wide of the post. There are plenty of midfield players who can join this City attack when they get forward.
    • 16' Danger man Petrov crosses but there is no one on the end of it for City.
    • 14' United have a free-kick in a dangerous position after Stephen Ireland fouls Charles N'Zogbia. Milner's kick is headed away by Ireland.
    • 12' Charles N'Zobgia whips in another corner-kick for Toon and it runs straight out of play on the other side for a goal-kick.
    • 8' Damien Duff is hugging the touchline but yet to receive any service. With Joey Barton behind bars this New Year and things grinding to a halt recently, Toon boss Sam Allarcyce will be more than keen to see his players turn a corner in this first game of 2008.
    • 6' The ball is slipped through to Martin Petrov on the left side of the box... his shot is blocked. End-to-end so far.
    • 5' Habib Beye attacking from right-back, winning a corner... Joe Hart does not deal with the ball in at the first try, but does second time around. Another let-off for the away team.
    • 4' Man City, playing Darius Vassell alone in attack - typical Sven-Goran Eriksson - stroke the ball around easily. They will be looking for a performance from Brazilian Elano, who has faded with the cold of winter, it seems.
    • 2' A long ball forward for the home side is not dealt with adequately by Micah Richards, who tries to clear through James Milner and almost comes a cropper as a result. he gets away with it.
    • 1' Man City get us underway, kicking from left to right in their traditional light blue. Newcastle in black and white stripes, as you'd expect.
    • - The uplifting tribute, which has seen most SPL games cancelled today - including the Old Firm derby - is observed and we get ready for kick-off.
    • - We get ready for the minute of applause, which has now replaced the minute's silence on most accasions, it seems. This is of course in memory of Phil O'Donnell, the Motherwell captain who tragically died last weekend.
    • - Elano is picked to start for City after speculation that he would be rested, while Michael Owen is on the bench for Newcastle. Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins start up front for the Toon.
    • - Welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE text commentary on the Premier League clash between Newcastle United and Manchester City.

  • Team Stats

    Newcastle United Stats Manchester City
    53% Possession 47%
    19 Shots 10
    10 Shots on target 5
    1 Saves 5
    8 Corners 7
    13 Fouls 8
    2 Offsides 6
    0 Yellow cards 3
    0 Red cards 0
    21 Tackles 31
    319 Accurate passes 257
    59 Bad passes 34

  • 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 15 1 0
      27 Steven Taylor 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 40 0 1
      25 Abdoulaye Faye 0 2 2 0 4 0 0 31 5 7
      21 Habib Beye 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 23 0 1
      6 Claudio Caçapa 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 48 7 2
      22 Nicky Butt 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 34 12 2
      14 Charles N'Zogbia 0 3 1 2 1 0 0 29 10 2
      16 James Milner 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 19 2 1
      11 Damien Duff 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 19 11 0
      36 Mark Viduka 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 23 3 3
      9 Obafemi Martins 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 10 0 0
      5 Belozoglu Emre 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 10 2 0
      4 David Rozehnal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      3 José Enrique Sanchez Diaz 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 8 5 1
      13 Steve Harper 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      10 Michael Owen 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 10 1 1
    • Manchester City
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      25 Joe Hart 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 2 0
      2 Micah Richards 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 0 1
      16 Vedran Corluka 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 8 2
      3 Michael Ball 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 16 6 3
      4 Nedum Onuoha 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 24 0 3
      22 Richard Dunne 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 21 2 5
      11 Blumer Elano 1 3 1 1 1 0 0 28 1 4
      21 Dietmar Hamann 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 41 1 8
      7 Stephen Ireland 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 25 4 2
      15 Martin Petrov 0 3 3 1 0 2 0 17 6 0
      12 Darius Vassell 0 0 0 6 0 1 1 14 1 1
      24 Javier Garrido 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      10 Rolando Bianchi 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0
      1 Andreas Isaksson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      37 Kelvin Etuhu 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 2
      28 Gelson Fernandes 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 6 2 0

  • Summary

    • - Thank you for joining us for tonight's action. See you at the weekend for the FA Cup!!
    • 79' Newcastle orchestrate an attack, the ball breaking to Butt... his shot is like an arrow towards the top of the goal, tipped over by Given!!
    • 76' A SECOND GOAL FOR CITY!! It is the substitute Fernandes!!
    • 47' N'Zogbia with a lovely diagonal ball through for OWEN... his shot is saved by Hart and the ball just runs wide!!
    • 43' Another brilliant move by the away team as Vassell and Ireland combine to line one up for Elano again 10 yards out... he cannot quite get to it. Eventually Vedran Corluka tries his luck - but drags a powerful shot wide.
    • 38' Elano passes to Ireland, who plays it on to Vassell... the little striker tees it up for ELANO... GOAL FOR CITY!!
    • 30' Petrov takes possession on the left for Eriksson's outfit and hits a cracking left-footed drive that Shay Given gets a palm to - diverting it over for a corner!!
    • 28' The Zog again on the left after good retrieval work by Duff, turning his man to earn space inside the box again and fire a shot that Hart is down to save at his near post. Scintillating stuff from the Frenchman.
    • 27' N'Zogbia breaks into the area and slides a ball across goal... no one there for Newcastle!! That was in between Hart and his defence, begging to be finished off.
    • 25' Lovely backheel from Viduka to put in Martins and complete a one-two... he should shoot from the angle on the left, but hesitates and Richard Dunne is back to perform a flawless sliding tackle!! This match has awoken.
    • 22' Petrov cuts inside and feeds a pass to Vassell, who flicks it over to Elano... he chests it and volleys a yard wide. More good attacking play.
    • 21' Immediately the play swings to the other end where Martins smacks a shot like a bullet that Hart does well to get to and hold. That one was shifting!
    • 20' Ireland with space to attack the last man after Claudio Cacapa makes a mess of a pass back to his central defensive team-mate Steven Taylor... he twists this way and that then tries to off-load to Elano, only for Beye to get back and intercept. He should have shot.
    • - Welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE text commentary on the Premier League clash between Newcastle United and Manchester City.

Expected Line-Up

  • Newcastle United

    Manager: Sam Allardyce

    Captain: Shay Given

    Starting line-up

    • S. Given
    • H. Beye
    • C. Caçapa
    • S. Taylor
    • C. N'Zogbia
    • J. Milner
    • N. Butt
    • A. Diagne-Faye Substitution Out (72′)
    • D. Duff Substitution Out (64′)
    • O. Martins Substitution Out (46′)
    • M. Viduka

    Player to watch

    Michael Owen
    Michael Owen

    Whether he starts of whether he comes off the bench, the England striker will be keen to show he has fully recovered from injury.

    Subs

    • M. Owen Substitution In46′
    • B. Emre Substitution In72′
    • S. Harper
    • D. Rozehnal
    • J. Enrique Substitution In64′

    Injured

    • A. Smith

    Suspended

    None

  • Manchester City

    Manager: Sven-Göran Eriksson

    Captain: Richard Dunne

    Starting line-up

    • J. Hart
    • N. Onuoha
    • M. Richards
    • R. Dunne
    • M. Ball
    • S. Ireland Substitution Out (75′)
    • D. Hamann
    • V. Corluka
    • M. Petrov
    • B. Elano Goal Yellow Card Substitution Out (70′)
    • D. Vassell Yellow Card Substitution Out (88′)

    Player to watch

    Martin Petrov
    Martin Petrov

    The flying Bulgarian has been on fire over the festive season - Newcastle's defence will need to be wary of the winger's electric pace.

    Subs

    • A. Isaksson
    • R. Bianchi Substitution In88′
    • J. Garrido
    • F. Gelson Substitution In75′ Goal Yellow Card
    • K. Etuhu Substitution In70′

    Injured

    • M. Johnson

    Suspended

    None