It was a rip roaring derby game yesterday between Newcastle and Sunderland, and everybody got tied up in the tension and excitement of the event, including the players, the managers and the coaching staffs.
Pardew and O’Neill on the line yesterday
Lee Cattermole was again the villain when he received a yellow card for his very first tackle in the first minute on Cheick Tiote, and Lee was lucky it was not a straight red.
There were five yellow cards given to Newcastle players, three yellow cards given to Sunderland players and in addition two straight red cards given to Stephane Sessegnon after 58 minutes and then Lee Cattermole after the final whistle.
Stephane received his for elbowing Cheick Tiote and that put Newcastle at a distinct advantage, but Demba Ba missed a penalty after 82 minutes and it was local lad Shola Ameobi who saved the day for the Geordie fans, with a goal one minute into stoppage time.
Lee Cattermole managed to evade a second yellow card, but after the final whistle he was shown a straight red card for dissent towards the refereed Mike Dean and his assistants.
But Martin O’Neill raised a bit of a fuss at the end of the game when he was asked why Cattermole received his red card:
“Possibly in mitigation we had heard that some of their staff had visited the referee’s changing room at half-time.”
Newcastle had goalkeeping coach Andy Woodman dismissed at half-time after an argument with the Sunderland fitness coach Jim Henry, so even the coaches were getting involved in the bad tempered state of affairs yesterday.
But Alan Pardew immediately denied Newcastle had been in to see the referee at half time, even though Mike Dean had given Sunderland a penalty for a shirt pull on Michael Turner by Mike Williamson – something you see at almost every corner or free kick into the box these days, but very rarely given.
If the referees are going to start calling these as penalties, then there should be three or four penalties in every game – the referees have to be consistent.
This is what Alan Pardew had to say:
“I can tell you that’s completely untrue. None of our staff was allowed in the referee’s room. No-one tried to enter it and no-one entered their dressing room. I heard that rumour and it’s not right.”
And then the Newcastle manager tried to play down what had happened between the two benches during the game – if the manager and coaches cannot control themselves, they cannot expect their players to be disciplined and both teams were not disciplined at all in that first half.
Alan Pardew continued that he shouldn’t have goaded O’Neill when Ameobi equalized very late in the game:
“What happens on the bench sometimes gets out of hand, silly things are said. It happens all the time and you just get on with it.”
“I have never done that before. It just goes to show that the pressure of the game can get to even the oldest of managers like myself. I was feeling like 58 today rather than 50.”
This was Pardew’s third derby game and thank goodness he still hasn’t lost one, although it was close yesterday, and he seemed to make the exact right changes at half time when he brought on Ben Arfa for Ryan Taylopr on the right wing and move Ryan back to left back in place of Davide Santon.
And Sunderland had a chance to win at St. James Park for the first time since 2000, but Martin O’Neil although disappointed at not winning, said the derby game was everything he had heard it would be:
“It was everything that people had told me about, everything, absolutely everything.” “Hostility, which I am kind of used to – that’s even from my own fans – fervour, everything, everything.”
“In a perverse sort of way, I was enjoying it – it had to be really perverse – but there was obviously disappointment at the end.”
Sunderland missed a huge opportunity to get bragging rights yesterday, and it took local lad Shola Ameobi to equalize late in the game.
The good thing for Newcastle is that they played well and in a disciplined way in that second half, and Ben Arfa made a huge difference on the right wing.
But we have now lost 7 points of the last 9 and next up is not an easy game at Arsenal next Monday night. We’re not expected to get anything out of that game so maybe we will. 😀
Comments welcome.
8 comments so far
dutchy
Mar 5, 2012 at 8:41 AM
Comment #1Gotta love Pards passion!
ROSHAN
Mar 5, 2012 at 8:41 AM
Comment #2when ever some people expect us to win we draw or loose but when they expect us to loose we win so i guess its good for us if people think we will loose
Norwegian_geordie
Mar 5, 2012 at 8:46 AM
Comment #3Great game… Ben Arfa the best for a long long time.
I don’t think that the shirt pulling would have been given if it hadn’t been for that Mike is looking away from the ball – only interested in the player.
So great to see Pardew getting all exited. My mother in law allmost had a heartattack when our penalty was awarded. And sure as hell had one when we scored…
this is one for the dvd’s… Just gotta love the tension..
Cattermole – ASSHOLE!
Dave83C
Mar 5, 2012 at 8:48 AM
Comment #4I think this derby talk between newcastle and sunderland is getting out of hand. The 1st half of the match yesterday I was embarrassed as a toon fan. If I wanted to see people kicking each other like that I would have gone down to Lukes Lane estate on a friday night. Second half we actually realised there was a ball on the pitched and played. We need to stop this over reacting, not just us but also the mackems, last night on facebook was a joke, they should all be ashamed for the way they went on.
thepict
Mar 5, 2012 at 8:58 AM
Comment #5Horrible first half. However, absolutely battered them second half, although thanks to the Match of the Day editing you wouldn’t of thought it. According to Shearer , Mike Dean had a good game. Don’t know what game he was watching.
sirtoongospel
Mar 5, 2012 at 9:25 AM
Comment #6I saw at pretty close quarters yesterday the spat between the managers, and despite being described as “classy”, it was M O’N who fired the first shots. Pardew was at the referee, and rightly so, regarding a shocker of a decision, and O’Neill gave it full verbals. Pardew just threw it back and worse.
It was the same on the pitch, the unwashed tried to bring the physical, rough stuff from the first few seconds, and they were met head on by our players, who let’s be honest are no shrinking violets.
They lost 5-1 here last time and no way were they gonna let that happen again. Although they were probably the better side in the first half, they created very little, and when we finally woke up, we created more than them in the last 5 minutes of the half than they had in the previous 40.
Then the second half, we had 4 attempts in the first 2 minutes and we were well in the ascendancy even before the sending off.
It was edgy, nervy, frantic and a proper derby game for the duration. We got at the very least a deserved point, and really should have won it.
Shola the hero, and will ask again, why is he not on the banner? Surely he deserves to be on there ahead of Best? Or just find room for him.
HBA magnificent, and Raylor at left back works better (Santon will improve and needs time).
Cisse needs time too, but he will be a success for us. All in all, 4 points from “them”. Again. And 6th place is realistic.
11 games to go, if we win half of them, it will be a tremendous season.
NUFC_DOWNUNDER
Mar 5, 2012 at 9:42 AM
Comment #74 points lost the last two games… Can’t help but be disappointed. We would very well placed for Europe right now. Not good enough last night – not enough quality. Tiotes a good defensive midfielder but cannot pass and lacks creativity. Gutierrez has to move into the module or into defense. He cannot produce a good ball. He must have taken his defender on 20-30 times last night but crossed the ball maybe 3 times, meanwhile benarfa was on the right waiting to get it.
Think Danton would’ve been good to have there on the left but prob injured.. Simpson is a championship defender at best.
Very happy with where we are and cannot fault this team but we need more quality on the ball. Teams like Swansea and Norwich and fulham are playing better staff I feel
NEWEXPATMAGPIE
Mar 5, 2012 at 9:58 AM
Comment #8@6:
On the live sports channel here! The Mackems were intent on not letting us play Footy and tried to kick us off the park! At least in the first half!
If the Ref had had a good game he could of given a lot more cards out to both teams! But then to ref such a game is not easy and he could of sent more players off! By the end!
A draw was a fair result i think! Despite the bitching coming from O,neils camp!