Drought over
Newcastle Utd 2 - 0 Leeds Utd
A long-awaited goal from Papiss Cisse and first home goal for Goofy were enough to see off a solid, if unspectacular, Leeds team.
A decade ago, this fixture would have been a big challenge, and had Ross McCormack's early chip gone in rather than rebound off the Gallowgate crossbar, it might yet have been. Thankfully, though, a team boasting a significant cadre of players with top-flight experience had the skill and composure to win without ever looking troubled.
After some initial frustrating forays went astray, with Cisse guilty of snatching at chances that an in-form striker would have slotted home, we finally got our nose in front when Paul Dummett sent the ball down the line for Little Big Lad. His first-time left-footed cross curled brilliantly round the first centre back and straight on to the forehead of the onrushing Cisse, who didn't even need to break stride to nod the ball home from six yards and end his goalless run which had extended to over 1000 minutes of football.
Little Big Lad again played the role of provider in the second half, when he drove in from the left, before laying a short pass into the feet of Goofy, who took one touch to get the ball out, before swivelling and smashing the ball inside the far post from the edge of the penalty area.
With Loic Remy enjoying a good start to his Toon career, the game gave both Little Big Lad and Goofy the opportunity to keep themselves in the Silver Fox's thoughts, and they both seized the opportunity with strong performances. Also performing well on the night was Paul Dummett, who continues to keep the pressure on both Davide Santon and Mathieu Debuchy.
With the draw pairing us with Man City in the next round, and the club stating that cup competitions aren't a priority, it remains to be seen how much further we go in this competition, but if we keep up the good work of the last few games (blip against Hull notwithstanding) then we may yet manage to keep the cup run going a little while longer.
Other reports: BBC, Guardian
A long-awaited goal from Papiss Cisse and first home goal for Goofy were enough to see off a solid, if unspectacular, Leeds team.
A decade ago, this fixture would have been a big challenge, and had Ross McCormack's early chip gone in rather than rebound off the Gallowgate crossbar, it might yet have been. Thankfully, though, a team boasting a significant cadre of players with top-flight experience had the skill and composure to win without ever looking troubled.
After some initial frustrating forays went astray, with Cisse guilty of snatching at chances that an in-form striker would have slotted home, we finally got our nose in front when Paul Dummett sent the ball down the line for Little Big Lad. His first-time left-footed cross curled brilliantly round the first centre back and straight on to the forehead of the onrushing Cisse, who didn't even need to break stride to nod the ball home from six yards and end his goalless run which had extended to over 1000 minutes of football.
Little Big Lad again played the role of provider in the second half, when he drove in from the left, before laying a short pass into the feet of Goofy, who took one touch to get the ball out, before swivelling and smashing the ball inside the far post from the edge of the penalty area.
With Loic Remy enjoying a good start to his Toon career, the game gave both Little Big Lad and Goofy the opportunity to keep themselves in the Silver Fox's thoughts, and they both seized the opportunity with strong performances. Also performing well on the night was Paul Dummett, who continues to keep the pressure on both Davide Santon and Mathieu Debuchy.
With the draw pairing us with Man City in the next round, and the club stating that cup competitions aren't a priority, it remains to be seen how much further we go in this competition, but if we keep up the good work of the last few games (blip against Hull notwithstanding) then we may yet manage to keep the cup run going a little while longer.
Other reports: BBC, Guardian
Labels: league cup, leeds, match report, newcastle
posted by Paul at 9:14 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home