Birmingham City v Newcastle United video highlights and match reaction.

Posted on February 16th, 2011 | 47 Comments |

Match highlights of the Magpies’ 2-0 victory over Birmingham City yesterday evening, with goals by Peter Lovenkrands and Leon Best. It was probably Jonas Gutierrez who put in the “Man of the Match” performance however, providing two excellent assists for each of the goals.

Speaking after the game, manager, Alan Pardew, said of the team’s win:

“That was a complete performance as an away team against a side in good form. They showed that early on.

“We probably won the game in the first 20 minutes as we did not concede.

“We were strong. They work the ball to put angled balls in the box.

“We had a gameplan to deal with that, and it worked very well.

“In all honesty, they hardly had any efforts on goal all night.”

Speaking on the above mentioned Gutierrez, Pardew added:

“Jonas was great. He carried the ball up the pitch and gave us a rest.

“He takes the ball in tight areas. He is a big part of our team.

“Now we have to keep it going and keep focused.”

HWTL!

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47 Responses

  1. A game plan ?
    Yeah they are going to send in balls to the big guy, just as we did to “what`s his name” ?
    Thats rocket science ?
    And for those who advocated getting rid of Jonas and Best, any change of mind ?
    Always thought if given playing time Best would surprise people, he works hard for the side and appears to be a clinical enough finisher.
    Good win over a side not great but usually like Stoke, hard to beat.
    Soh ! whats next european spot ?

  3. Not so fast on the ‘euro spot’ predictions, safety first.
    Still need a few points so we can play freely.

    Nowt wrong with Jonas, & Best just needs games to reach his real potential, just like PL too.
    The more they play, the better they’ll gel.
    Nice to have a different approach & get away from the ‘hoof it long to the big lad’ game plan.
    It’s much harder for teams to plan against.
    It also seems to have come at a good time, when teams were starting to suss it out.
    Howay the lads!

  4. Clint
    The “europe next” was tongue in cheek.
    Funny how emotions and expectations rise and fall with results, it`s either europe or the drop!

  5. chuck,
    sorry mate, i thought you were getting carried away there.
    ;)
    You’re right though, people do/must have mad old heart rates.
    Edging towards safety though is good stuff.

    Each game as it comes, as the old saying goes, hey?
    :)

    I do seem to remember you championing Best a bit, back before & as we were getting him on board, good one.
    ;)

  6. Still trying to figure what Pardew ment by,

    “Jonas was great, he carried the ball up the pitch and gave us a rest” ?

    “He takes the ball in tight areas. He`s a big part of our team”

    Anyone care to translate what the above means ?

  8. Lads Europe is clearly in our sites. I would definitely benefit the club in terms of attracting good players in the summer and may even get MA to put his hand into his pocket. I know Jonas played well last night but I thought bentley was also very good, I would love to see him play for us next year. Is Benny back training today???

  10. chuck,
    translation of AP’s quotes:
    “Jonas was great, he carried the ball up the pitch and gave us a rest” ? means…He knows how to take the pressure off the defense by keeping hold of the ball & taking it to the oppo’s half, whilst taking their defenders with him, basically he runs with the ball & draws defenders, he’s dangerous.
    “He takes the ball in tight areas. He`s a big part of our team”…Means…You can give him the ball in a tight spot & he can do something with it. He doesn’t worry or get flustered in a tight spot, while some players don’t like that, they need space with the ball.

    Does that make sense?
    ;)

  11. batty,
    if i wasn’t aware of your betting skills, i’d tell ya’ to haad y’pash, but seeing as it’s you…
    ;)

  14. best is coming along. he still gets caught offside quite a bit and the top 2’s communication needs to get better, which it will with more games.
    all in all, great performance all around. thought tiote was fantastic and barton, playing a bit deeper than usual, did well. also, i think danny simpson has quietly gotten better and better this season. him and jose coming down the flanks on overlaps with JB and jonas gives us loads of attacking options.

  16. chuck says:
    February 16, 2011 at 2:54 pm

    “Still trying to figure what Pardew ment by,

    “Jonas was great, he carried the ball up the pitch and gave us a rest” ?

    “He takes the ball in tight areas. He`s a big part of our team”

    Anyone care to translate what the above means ?”

    Typical football manager bollix, Chuck. I think I vaguely know what he’s driving at, but it’s a bugger to translate it into English!

    I think he means that he did what he usually does, ie wins the ball well when surrounded by lot of opposing players, runs with the ball alot and keeps possession while the rest nip off for a cup of tea! Possibly?

  17. So glad we got a win at last after all the draws / losses. I agree that Jonas was excellent yesterday.

  19. batty,
    11-14th was a good bet mate.
    Are y’gannen for an upgrade then.
    What’s the new odds then?

  20. batty says:
    February 16, 2011 at 3:20 pm
    paul divent ya mean all those draws and 1 loss

    Two batty, one to Stevanage and one to Fulham?

  21. For some strange reasom, senility perhaps, I hadn’t even realise we were playing last night until I put the Sky Footy on and Merson was announcing that we had just scored the opening goal. Talk about an uplifting buzz, they weren’t actually showing it live so I waited till the later highlights show hoping it wouldn’t turn out to be a downer, which it wasn’t.
    Great win, our defence is looking so good now apart from the Gooner blip I cannot see us conceding many more this season, Europe really has to be on the cards now!!

  22. Paul, you have swallowed the press mantra of no win in 5 which they have been trotting out but they didnt say as Batty pointed out, 1 loss at Fulham and 4 draws, previous to that it was a defeat at Stevenage and two very good wins v Wigan and Hammers but that doesnt sound dramatic enough for them.

  26. bigbadbob says:
    February 16, 2011 at 3:48 pm
    Paul, you have swallowed the press mantra of no win in 5

    I haven’t swallowed the press anything bigbadbob because its true that we hadn’t won in 6 games. Are you saying that it isn’t and they made it up? I dont care what the press say but we needed a win.

  27. On Pardews statement,
    Why would any manager want his left winger to run the ball upfield without support and then take it into a tight area, eh ?
    Actually if you have watched Jonas he seldom takes the ball to the corner, instead cuts to-ward`s midfield in order to cross with his right foot.
    And if i figured this out , what about the leagues defenders ?

  28. Grumpy Old-Toon says:
    February 16, 2011 at 3:44 pm

    “Great win, our defence is looking so good now apart from the Gooner blip I cannot see us conceding many more this season”

    Aye Grumpy, it was. However we’re still a transitional side, so we may still be somewhat erratic for a while yet.

  29. Worky, not so sure about the transitional bit, apart from the forwards the team has been fairly settled (def anyway) and consistent. Every team has had erratic results and will probably continue to do so.
    Aparently we have won more away than Manu!! It’s our home form thats been the fly in the ointment.

  30. Paul, No win in 5 was trotted out which is true but it is also true that it was only 1 loss, i posted about this the other day as i am sick of hearing it, same as sundrland sitting in 6th place as if its the be all and end all.
    You can be huffed or pleased with my comment, i couldnt give a shit either way.

  31. chuck,
    not last night mate, 2 great crosses for goals, both with his left wand.
    & also, from wide left.

    On the tight spot thing,
    He can receive the ball whilst in a tight spot & still use it. Not run into a tight spot.
    Y’get me?
    ;)

  32. bbb,
    i know what y’saying mate.
    The press mongs always look on the bad side, trying to undermine what is a decent first season back in this league.
    & just to concur with what worky was saying,
    cos it’s our first season back, a bit of inconsistency is totally normal.
    If we can just get through this season & finish well, confidence will grow further.
    ;)

  33. bigbadbob says:
    February 16, 2011 at 4:23 pm
    You can be huffed or pleased with my comment, i couldnt give a shit either way.

    I’m neither bigbadbob, i just don’t understand what your problem is with my comment?

  34. lets assume just for a minute that we arent getting carried away and europe is a serious possibility this season. . .

    do people actually think its a good thing to qualify for the EUROPA/tin pot/micky mouse league? because I wouldnt be too unhappy about not being in it next season. most of the games in that cup are against moderate teams from poor leagues (until the latter stages) so i think it would just add some very much not wanted fixture congestion at times of the season like this where injuries and suspensions have the potential to ruin our league campaign.

    i can see the argument of a bit of extra tv cash, some decent away trips for the fans and some good exposure for the youngsters in europe but i just think another season without that added distraction would be ideal

  35. js,
    that’s a decent call there mate.

    Do we want built in stability over the next couple of years or are we glory hunting?

  36. Grumpy Old-Toon says:
    February 16, 2011 at 4:17 pm
    Worky, not so sure about the transitional bit, apart from the forwards the team has been fairly settled (def anyway) and consistent. Every team has had erratic results and will probably continue to do so.
    Aparently we have won more away than Manu!! It’s our home form thats been the fly in the ointment.<<<< aye our home form did let us doon under clueless chris ,but under mr pardew we have only lost 1 mancity ;)

  37. I agree with the comments about the “no win in 5” negativity we get from the Press. Actually, we’d played 2 at home -drawing against Arsenal and Spurs – what are they? 3rd and 4th? – and been close to winning, and 3 away with draws against Blunderland (6th or 7th?) and a tough Blackburn side – both of which could easily have been victories. Our one bad result and performance was a 1-0 defeat away to Fulham in the wake of the AC disturbance. Now we have just beaten Birmingham away – they have only lost twice at home before.
    By the way, does anybody else think the return of John Carver may also have helped sharpen us up a bit?

  38. I also agree with not getting carried away. Although it’s nice to think we are already on 35 points, more than our relegation season total, we are still not safe – it could well need 42-44 points this year. Remember how many of us said before the season that staying in the PL was our ambition and that we would be happy with 17th?
    (I also remember my mate predicting that we would set a new low points record worse than the Makems’ 12! – WRONG!)

  39. Our defense ?
    Not bad, El Toro when he`s on can look great, but he is not that consistent, needs to improve there.
    Simpson is improving by the game, becoming the complete wing back, by adding an attacking role.
    Colo. Steady and consistent, has adapted well to the pace and physicality of the EPL.
    Williamson, the weak link, tends to ball watch, losses his man and his ball distribution needs to improve.
    Taylor hopefully will get up to speed quickly resulting in a fairly decent back four.
    But the real improvement in defence is really down to our Ivorian defensive midfielder, who breaks up most stuff comming their way and makes life easy for them.
    By the way he is quickly becoming the most important player in the side, with his new found ability to create the perfect pass and we all saw his volley to tie the Arsenal game.
    The midfield engine that we have lacked for a long time, hope we can hang onto him !

  40. Batty, I wouldn’t totally disagree with what you are saying. We should and could have won more under both CH and AP at home, the form and performances were there but somehow the wins just didn’t materialise. Bad luck, dodgy refs decisions or the away GK having an inspired day, takes your pick!!

    Hopefully we are now gettin the rub of the green in our favour now. :)

  42. chuck,
    i wouldn’t put ower much stock in Saylor mind, didn’t look that good on his recent return. In fact it helped scupper a budding CB partnership in Willo & Colo that was doing real good ’til that point.
    Willo has had no more than a couple of bad games since he joined, he may not be fashionable but he gets the job done & takes orders well.

  43. “Williamson, the weak link, tends to ball watch, losses his man and his ball distribution needs to improve.”

    Hmm, now what other player has often been criticised for those exact faults?…Oh yeah! Steven Taylor. :lol:

    Seriously, Taylor always seems to have his best form whilst out injured. People muse over him as if he has been setting the world alight. It baffles me, it really does. Good player, but no better than Mike Williamson.

    Anyway, people criticising Williamson can’t have been watching the last few games (Arsenal aside). Yes, he has had some off games this season, but lately he has been dominant at the back and won individual battles with some notoriously tough cookies e.g. Hangeland, Roberts, Santa Cruz, Zigic and Jerome. He has been pivotal in our recent defensive performances and allowed Coloccini more freedom to venture forward.

    Williamson and Colo are our best partnership.

  44. El Toro,
    succinctly put mate.
    I don’t think i can argue with any of that.
    I’d stick with them for now, no problem.
    2 clean sheets away, on the bounce.
    ;)

  45. “Anyway, people criticising Williamson can’t have been watching the last few games (Arsenal aside)”

    The counter to that is Williamson often gets physically (and perhaps mentally) intimidated on the ball (Roberts. Jones, Elmander etc etc) and he got spanked by Arsenal on both home games.

    If you asked me who, in the current team, seems less interested in “putting it about” and dominating their opponent, I’d be hard pressed to find an alternative to MW and that’s including Leon “Mint” Best and Peter “I can be Carroll” Lovenkrands.

    However in an ideal world I’d prefer a back three where Saylor would fit the right CB role along with Colo as sweeper and AN Other (not Perch) maybe Kadar if he blossoms next season ?

  46. Saylor has a nasty habit of dropping further & further back ’til he’s either on the goal line or in the ‘keepers way.
    He likes to flap at the ball with his hands too(inexplicably, whilst standing in his own box).
    Not saying he ain’t a decent CB, he is, just not as good as some of us want him to be. & he can be a liability some times.
    MW was punched in the gut by roberts & wasn’t it Colo who was out muscled/fouled by elmander?

  47. Magpie6699 @37. Good call re JC. Hoots struggled without a number two Pards would have done so too. JC is a good coach no doubt and takes alot of the pressure of Pards.
    No way of knowing now how things would have worked out for Hoots if JC had been brought in earlier.
    Ah well! onwards and upwards.
    HWTL