Chelsea 3-4 Newcastle – Video highlights and reaction.
Posted on September 23rd, 2010 | 89 Comments |
Lost for words is one way I felt after last nights match at Stamford Bridge. It may only have been the Carling Cup, but if there were more matches like last night in the competition then I very much doubt that it would be carrying the label of being devalued by teams playing weaker sides.
It’s the first time in 24 years that Newcastle have won at Stamford Bridge, and whilst Chelsea admittedly put out a weaker side than they would if this had been a league encounter, the fact is that they still called upon first-teamers such as Nicolas Anelka and John Terry. Let’s not forget that Newcastle also had their fringe players playing last night as they made ten changes from the side that beat Everton at the weekend.
In fact the only player to keep their place in the team was Fabricio Coloccini who played at the back next to debutant Sol Campbell, who had a small part to play in United conceeding the first goal. In fact you could blame a number of people for conceding the opener. Coloccini could have cleared it but didn’t, Krul and Campbell could have communicated more which would have led to the ball being cleared properly, but they didn’t, and Nile Ranger could be blamed for trying, and failing to beat his man on the edge of his own penalty area. All of them factors played a part in former Newcastle loanee Patrick Van Aanholt giving the home side the lead on 5 minutes.
At 1-0 down with only 5 minutes on the clock I suspect many fans may have expected a thumping to be on the cards, yet it was Newcastle who grew into the game. Their passing improved and with that so did their confidence. In fact the equalising goal was a result of a move that must have contained around 20 neat little passes before Shane Ferguson finally got the ball into the box for Nile Ranger to lash the ball home at the back post and make it 1-1.
There was further delight for the travelling fans a few minutes later when Shola Ameobi earned a free-kick on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area. Ryan Taylor stepped up to take it and bent the ball round the wall and into the far corner of the net to make it 2-1 to the away side at half-time.
Many would have expected Chelsea to come out fired up after in the second-half, yet it was the away side who struck again through Shola Ameobi on 51 minutes. The Fenham Eusebio intercepted a poor cross-field pass from Paulo Ferreira and sidefooted the ball into the Chelsea from 20-yards out. 3-1 to Newcastle.
Newcastle missed a whole host of chances to put the result beyond doubt and perhaps inevitably they paid the price for their profligacy. Chelsea found a way back into the game on 70 minutes despite being reduced to ten man by virtue of having no substitutes to replace the injured Yossi Benayoun. Van Aanholt cut the ball back for Nicolas Anelka who finished smartly from 12-yards out.
Newcastle didn’t crumble though despite the fact that Chelsea had their tails up, and it took a ridiculous decision from referee Phil Dowd on 85 minutes to gift Chelsea an equaliser. Dowd awarded a penalty to the home side after apparently seeing Mike Williamson tugging on the shirt of Alex in the penalty area. Subsequent replays show that this tug was only seen in the mind of Phil Dowd and not anyone else. Credit to Nicolas Anelka though who cooly swept the spot-kick into the corner of the net and level the tie at 3-3.
Extra-time was now looking a real possibilty as the game headed into stoppage time. Newcastle had used every ounce of determination and deserved not to lose the game. The unthinkable happened in stoppage time as Jonas Gutierrez, the man with no end product, fired a corner into the box which fell straight on the head of Shola Ameobi who directed his header on target and into the back of the net to make the final score 4-3 to the away side.
A night of high drama at Stamford Bridge and Newcastle got what I think they deserved. They will now be in the hat for the next round of the draw which takes place at 12:00pm on Saturday. A home game against Brentford or Northampton would be a nice reward for last nights efforts!
I’m no fan of the Carling Cup, but winning against Chelsea, at Chelsea, is something I am going to enjoy for quite some time. This Newcastle side may not be packed full stars like it once was, it may not be being managed by a club idol or a local legend, but by god they make me proud to be a Geordie!
Howay the lads!
Chelsea – Ross Turnbull, Paoulo Ferriera, Jeffrey Bruma, John Terry, Patrick Van Aanholt, Yossi Benayoun, Ramires, Yuri Zhirkov, Daniel Sturridge, Nicolas Anelka, Gael Kakuta.
Subs – Petr Cech, Salomon Kalou, Alex, Josh McEachran, Billy Clifford, Jacob Mellis, Nathaniel Chabolah.
Newcastle – Tim Krul, Ryan Taylor, Sol Campbell, Fabricio Coloccini, Shane Ferguson, Nile Ranger, Alan Smith, Haris Vuckic, Jonas Gutierrez, Shola Ameobi, Peter Lovenkrands.
Subs – Ole Soderberg, Mike Williamson, Cheick Tiote, Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton, Hatem Ben Arfa, Andy Carroll.
NUFCBlog Author: toonsy
toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.
how did sol Campbell play by the way out