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Result: Bolton Wanderers 1 (0) – Newcastle United 3 (3)
……………Anelka (50) …………………………. N’Zogbia (11) Martins 2 (22, 27,)
(English Premier League, August 11th, 2007)
Oba Martins – scintillating form
Newcastle United got the job done today as they held out in the second half to run out 3-1 worthy winners against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok stadium this afternoon. Newcastle were totally dominant in the first half as they ripped Bolton apart and were deservedly 3-0 up after only 27 minutes with goals from N’Zogbia and a brilliant brace from Martins, who looked scintillating throughout.
In the second half Newcastle took the foot off the accelerator a little – probably too much – and to Bolton’s credit they came back fighting in the second half and got a goal after 50 minutes through Anelka who looked classy.
Newcastle tried to protect their lead in the second half and played to obvious directions from their manager and ran out 3-1 worthy winners and a good 3 points to start the season. Newcastle’s performance was very good and when you consider we have 6 senior players missing through injury, there is a lot of quality in the side. There will also be some competition for places as some supposedly reserve players like N’Zogbia were simply outstanding.
Sam Allardyce handed full debuts to Rozehnal, Geremi (captain), Smith and Viduka.
Sammy Lee handed full senior debuts to Jlloyd Samuel, Gavin McCann and Gerald Cid for today’s Barclay’s Premier League opener against Newcastle United.
Bolton Wanderers: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, Faye, Cid, Samuel, Speed, McCann, Nolan (capt), Vaz Te, Anelka, Davies. Subs: Al Habsi, Helguson, Diouf, Sinclair, Alonso
Newcastle United: Harper, Carr, Rozehnal, Martins, N’Zogbia, Milner, Smith, Geremi (capt), Butt, Taylor, Viduka. Subs: Forster, Cacapa, Solano, Ameobi, Ramage
Referee: Mr C Foy
Newcastle United got off to a fantastic start to their season when they literally tore into Bolton Wanderers this afternoon at the Reebok and were 3-0 up after 27 minutes. The team started like a steam train with everyone supporting each other, and immediately started to boss the midfield. The Magpies seemed to take Bolton by surprise by starting the game so aggressively and at such a fast pace.
After 11 minutes they went ahead through a 30-yard effort by N’Zogbia out on the right from a free-kick. Jaaskelainen should have done better but was distracted by Rozehnal charging through. Roz didn’t get any contact on the ball and it alluded Bolton goalkeeper and landed in the back of the net.
Newcastle were running Bolton off their feet at this stage in the game and not allowing them to get into any sort of rhythm. It seemed like Allardyce knew exactly how to beat his old team as Newcastle kept the tempo high and the pace electric.
After 21 minutes Newcastle went 2-0 up when Martins – who was demonstrating lightning speed – found himself 8 yards out with the ball bouncing in front of him. Oba somehow then hit the ball over his head with an acrobatic right foot shot that flew over Jaaskelainen and into the net. It was a fantastic goal by Martins who was looking class up front for the Magpies.
After 24 minutes there was a scare for Newcastle as Rozehnal stopped the ball on the line with his body, following a Bolton free kick. There was an appeal for a penalty which was turned away by the referee and then the ball was stopped on the line again, this time by Steven Taylor. The ball went rolling to Harper to collect and end the danger. This was a lucky escape for Newcastle.
Then after 27 minutes Martins hit a ball speculatively from 30 yards out. It took a deflection off a Bolton player and went to Jaaskelainen’s right as the goalkeeper was moving to his left. The ball hits the back of the net and Newcastle are 3-0 up and dominating Bolton completely. There were worried looks coming from manager Sami Lee and Chairman Phil Gartside as Bolton were being taken apart at this juncture by Newcastle’s all action play.
It’s a good first half for Newcastle as the whistle goes after 2 minutes of added time. Sam Allardyce couldn’t have hoped for a better start from his new side.
With a game seemingly won at half time it’s always difficult for a team to retain their concentration and now we were going to see if Newcastle could be professional enough to ensure they bag all three points.
Bolton started the second half much better and would you believe it they pulled one back after only 5 minutes but it was a poor goal for Newcastle to concede. Following a Newcastle corner Bolton cleared the ball quickly and Geremi was stuck in no man’s land. A through ball was played expertly though to Anelka in the inside right channel that cut Geremi completely out of the play. Stephen Carr came across to try to cover but Anelka outpaced him and hit a beautiful cross shot past Harper to bring Bolton back into the game.
Another goal from Bolton at this stage and they were right back in the game. Bolton looked rejuvenated and continually came at Newcastle who were now falling back to protect their lead. Diouf playing wide on the left against Carr was causing all kinds of trouble for the Newcastle defense and often beat two or three Newcastle players at once, with his consummate skill and determination.
He seemed to be the man Bolton were pinning their hopes on but Newcastle defended calmly as they allowed Bolton more of the ball in midfield as they covered more at the back. Bolton were playing much better now and picking up some confidence as Newcastle continually dropped back obviously under strict orders from Big Sam. Solano came on for Martins after 69 minutes.
Bolton’s attacks were breaking down in the last third of the pitch and they didn’t seem to have that quality to beat Newcastle when it mattered. Only Anelka and Diouf seemed a real threat to the Newcastle defense. Allardyce then brought on Ameobi for Viduka after 72 minutes. Viduka turned in a workmanlike effort for Newcastle and will do well for the club this season as his experience showed throughout this game.
The performance of Newcastle in the second half had obviously been drilled into them as they tried to block every shot and took absolutely no chances with their defensive clearances. It wasn’t delightful stuff but it’s what Sam had said will be needed to secure wins. And it did as Newcastle played out the clock to record a very good win and an excellent performance in their first game.
Nobody really had a bad game and we would pick out N’Zogbia, Rozehnal (great acquisition by Sam) and Martins probably as the star players. The midfield of Smith, Geremi and Butt were dominant especially in the first half. But the satisfying thing about this performance is that it was a complete team effort and Newcastle looked extremely well organized and knew exactly what they had to do at all times.
While the second half slowed the game down Newcastle were nothing less than scintillating in the first half. Can’t wait for that first game at St. James next Saturday at 5:15 pm. Great start in Sam’s first game.
Comments very welcome.
25 comments so far
Lull,Malaysia
Aug 11, 2007 at 5:40 PM
Comment #1A kickstart to new era! An its a big leap! Next, Aston Villa! 🙂
Lull,Malaysia
Aug 11, 2007 at 5:43 PM
Comment #2A kickstart of a new era. Next, Aston Villa! 🙂
Nick
Aug 11, 2007 at 5:44 PM
Comment #3The perferct start. 😀
magpie boy
Aug 11, 2007 at 5:47 PM
Comment #4Its good we gotta a win from a side which we were not able to defeat them at their homeground,i dont know if im too optimistic or what…Surely we will now challenge the Big 4.n hey how did u think roznhel played Toon army??now thats what i call a defender…congrats to our superb team!!
SteveD
Aug 11, 2007 at 5:54 PM
Comment #5Good start from a more solid foundation – looking forward to goals on MOTD tonight
reggie22
Aug 11, 2007 at 5:55 PM
Comment #6does anyone know of anywhere u can see the goals or do i just pray were the pick of the day on football first not that im botherd as WE R TOP THE OF THE LEAGUE SAY WE R TOP OF THE LEAGUE GET IN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lull , Malaysia
Aug 11, 2007 at 5:56 PM
Comment #7A kickstart of a new era and its a huge leap! Next,Aston Villa! 🙂
Nox
Aug 11, 2007 at 5:57 PM
Comment #8Newcastle played so well today. It was so much different compared to the past where after that goal the old Newcastle would have just fell apart however this new team showed determination not concede another goal. nice to seeAlan Smith today ya challenging for whatever he could great fighter nice to see Martins too did well too two good goals great for the confidence. Rozenhal i thought was alright he though abit shakey but a few more games he would be alright i hope. Overall Great performance by Newcastle good start!! OH YA!! GOOOO NEWCASTLE!!
Ed Harrison
Aug 11, 2007 at 6:06 PM
Comment #9I have the goals up there now…
http://nufcblog.com/bolton-1-newcastle-united-3-goals-video/
andy
Aug 11, 2007 at 6:06 PM
Comment #10i think ths was the best start we av had 4 ages. so gd we r top of the league although i stil want 2 see some new faces especialy 1 at right back but great win
carl
Aug 11, 2007 at 6:07 PM
Comment #11well its the day weve all been waiting for.and what a day!!!! the perfect start.
a good win against aston villa next week will be huge steps in our start. bring it on!
toonoholic
Aug 11, 2007 at 6:12 PM
Comment #12i wont kill the lively spirits ..though we played better ,, i think we got lucky with 2 goals … and carr once again proved he is not first team material when he got stuck out with anelka .. at times like start of the second half we look to prone to get whacked by bolton with a careless mistake from rozhenal and stupid carr defending .. i am happy we got all 3 points but this performance can simply not put us in top 4 … we still need a right back and another creative midfielder and if we lose luque and solano and dyer .. .replacment for 2 of them minimum !
i still love the 3 points and the fact we are top of the table .. after 97 hey guys ?
jassim
Aug 11, 2007 at 6:14 PM
Comment #13I liked what i saw in the match…… carr has to leave and find another club..-…………..?…….can`t wait for uor full team:D
Lull , Malaysia
Aug 11, 2007 at 6:17 PM
Comment #14Sorry for the flooding, Ed 🙂 Another 3 signings at least ( one LB,one RB & one AM), then our team is as good as done. Well done lads!
iain
Aug 11, 2007 at 6:18 PM
Comment #15just what we needed.
if dyer/nobby/luque leave surely this performance will help us attract real quality replacements that may have doubted how long it will take to turn around our fortunes.
this month could be one of the best in the clubs history, a couple of wins coupled with mort/ashley backing sam with a few real quality signings could fire us off to league start that would greatly increase our chance of european qualification.
a couple more midfielders and defenders and this team will be flying.
MightyMilburn
Aug 11, 2007 at 6:58 PM
Comment #16Great great great first half.. I was lost for words at seeing my beloved NUFC actually PLAYING football.. Passing the ball around.. Nice running patterns.. Last season we ran around like headless chickens sooo many times.. Our passing was woeful.. sorry no more negative comments about the previous regime..
After being up 2-o I couldnt help but thinking that we actually had a chance of at least getting a point at Reebok Stadium – as we didnt have Bramble in our line-up.. He used to be the most dangerous guy in front of the NUFC goal.. Sorry Titus, but I really felt relieved by that fact that you are now plying your trade someplace else.. (by the way – Wigan will go down..)
Milner looked great up front, Martins – a stand out, Viduka fought hard with the human muscles in Bolton defence, Butt and Geremi looked good in midfield, Taylor and Rozenthal looked solid at the back..
Yes, we rode our luck at times – and Bolton came back strong in the second half.. but overall a great start to a new campaign.. Why oh why do they not have a game until next Saturday??!! What to do for sooo long..
phoonck
Aug 11, 2007 at 8:07 PM
Comment #17Do not get too excited, mates!
Though there were glimpses of potential of our beloved Newcastle, there were also concerns to worry for us and Big Sam. Big Sam was of course spot-on with the tactics and we looked comfortable at the back which deserted us for ages. But still what worries me is we don’t play like a team, yet. We never passed the ball around for more than 8 times and our passes weren’t exactly accurate, let alone creative. We do looked dangerous at times, and i hope we can build on that. Ball possession is an important part of the game, but all we did was to clear the ball miles upfront only for the opponent to come at us again. This was especially evident in the 2nd half. Hopefully when our team players start to get used to each other on the field, we can see improvement on that.
Still, a great thumbs up for Big Sam on building a more dependable forces at the back. i thought Rozehnal looked comfortable and strong in the heart of defence. Viduka showed why he could be the steal of the season. Showed good controls on the ball though he seems to be short of fitness and pace. Smith and Geremi looked fine in midfield but needs to be more sure on the ball. As for our 2goals hero Martins, he needs to get more involved in the game or he may risk becoming non-existent, like in the 2nd half he disappeared.. last but not least, all the other players played to their tasks but i personally thinks Butt seems to be a misfit today in the middle of the park. I feel he was the most crucial to us conceding the goal, had he not lunged in and committed too early at Nolan, Carr could have bought himself time to drop deeper and not allow Anelka that amount of space to run at..
Howay the lads, a good start to a new season, hopes of positives at last, for the Toon Army!
Gallacher the Horse
Aug 11, 2007 at 8:11 PM
Comment #18At a mates barbeque – a Gooner – and am feeling on top of the world. Martins? £30 million, let alone £13M if anyone wants him – what a first goal!
And as ohers have said, so good to see the whole team playing together, like they each knew what the others were doing. And not just going forward like it was with KK; this was all over the pitch.
And Iain is right about this sort of football attracting quality players. The next two to three transfer weeks should be as exciting off the pitch as on!
Howay the lads!
Ed Harrison
Aug 11, 2007 at 8:45 PM
Comment #19The midfield and strikers looked great. The back 4 were OK but we need a right back and another defender – maybe a center-back. If Edmilson is coming in January that would be fine. Steven Taylor in first hald was a bit reckless at times and needs to back off in some circumstances.
Rozehnal looked very good – and he will only get better. The zog cannot be dropped on this performance – he’s looked a completely different player under Big Sam – he looks a budding superstar – i love the guy.
Think we also need a play-making midfielder who could really carve open the chances for the hungry wolves up front.
Those of you who had been wanting Martins to start were right – he looked fantastic – scared the living daylights out of Bolton because of his speed.
Don’t want to overdo but anybody watching the first half would think Martins was world class.
Debatable whether Owen will be first choice if this is how Martins is going to play this season – when he gets the chance. He played as though his life depended on it.
Terrific and gutsy performance from the lads. Let’s get at least 3 more in and make sure Dyer goes. Whoever Sam brings in is OK with us.
Andreas
Aug 11, 2007 at 10:31 PM
Comment #20In my opinion: 1. Brilliant first half 2. Ok second half 3. Over all a good performance with a great result.
Speaking of Martins, great to see him get those two goals – first one was pure class, second of course a “tad” lucky :=). However, the one thing I really would like to stress about his performance today was that he tracked back/defended (well all our players actually did) wholeheartedly as long as he was on the pitch. This is something he didn’t really do a lot last year. Very nice to see.
Rooosterboy
Aug 11, 2007 at 11:25 PM
Comment #21Fantastic result, and congrats on a great site, my new first stop for Newcastle News.
Lets hope we can hang on to Martins, at least he raised his value!
malaysian youngster
Aug 12, 2007 at 1:39 AM
Comment #22milner is not really great in that match. i will prefer n zogbia play a more attacking role. he yet will help cover up the defence.let enrique a try maybe?i was very impressed with geremi and smith. they really battling with their life.
Ross
Aug 12, 2007 at 2:05 AM
Comment #23so pleased about today.
first half was excellent. we were relentless, we never sat back, and we were rewarded for it. so martins second goal wasnt great, but at the end of the day if we hadnt hounded bolton for every ball, chased every loose ball, just played good determined football in general, we might not have scored them.
alan smith looks like he plays every game as if its his last, he’ll be brilliant this season.
i was a little bit nervous at times when rozy was involved at the back. dont get me wrong he looks a good strong defender and within a matter of months when he gets used to prem. football i hope he’ll be very good, but he looked a little shakey at times.
as for stephen carr..im sorry but he needs to go. he’s terrible. i totally agree with the fact that playing anelka offside today was schoolboy stuff, and he totally arsed it up.
overall though, encouraging stuff. bring on villa 😀
haseeb(NUFC FO LYFEEE)
Aug 12, 2007 at 8:49 AM
Comment #24great performance by newcastle agnst bolton….although i do still think we need a new RB….martins was hugely impressive…he will be big foer us dis season…while alan smith was determined as ever..and marco viduka looked like he has been playing for us for 10 years…great all round performance…but im saying it again carr is not good enough…COME ON ASTON VILLA(LETS BEAT THEM
Aussie Geordie
Aug 13, 2007 at 4:03 AM
Comment #25Been waiting a while for this to happen (43 yrs!!!), but I now believe we will see some return to the form of the Jackie Milburn glory days…go the Toon!!