Newcastle United(3) 4 Ferdinand(5,22),Shearer(38),Howey(67)
Aston Villa (1) 3 Yorke(4,59,69)
Att: 36,400
Newcastle: Srnicek, Watson, Peacock, Howey, Beresford, Batty, Lee,
Gillespie, Ginola (Asprilla 65), Shearer, Ferdinand
Subs not used: Hislop, Albert, Elliott, Kitson
Aston Villa: Oakes, Nelson, Wright, Ehiogu, Southgate, Staunton,
Taylor, Curcic, Milosevic, Yorke, Draper (off 43)
Subs Not Used: Joachim, Johnson, Hendrie, Rachel, Scimeca
I got to my seat just as the lads were kicking off. I popped in my chewy and sat back to watch what I supposed would be a cagey first twenty minutes.
No chance, within the first three minutes we were one down. A corner came in. Peacock got in Pav's way and Yorke headed in.
Thankfully, Villa did not have chance to get settled. Shearer held the ball up in the box before turning brilliantly and sliding the ball across the box. Les stole in at the far post and smashed it into the roof of the net.
You could feel the relief around the stadium. However, Yorke then hit the base of the post and the St. James' crowd was getting edgy. Thankfully, we started to assert our authority. Lee and Batty briefly got a grip of the ball in midfield. Gillespie was beating Villa's short-arsed full back at will and whilst Ginola was not particularly penetrative he was joining in the team play. Shearer and Ferdinand looked like they had been feeding on raw meat over the last week. We were unstoppable in the box.
So for twenty minutes everything was brill. Thankfully we made it count. Gillespie crossed the ball in and Ferdinand met it with a clean, powerful, diving header. Then just before half time we got a corner. Ferdinand headed the ball to Shearer, who knocked it back to him. Ferdinand's shot was blocked on the line but Shearer was there to force it home.
Then Villa's midfielder Draper was sent off for his second bookable offence. I cannot comment as I was gassing to the bloke behind me.
So at half time we had just played twenty minutes of awesome football, we were two goals up and facing ten men. 'Sit back and relax Thomas, son,' I told myself. Then I remembered that this was Newcastle.
For five minutes in the second half we were great. Ferdinand forced the goalie into a great save. Then everything went wrong. Defensivley we were terrible. KK, in a move which Ossie would have been proud of, moved Watson into a roving defensive\midfield role. Peacock marked Yorke and Batty was over-run. Lee (captain!) went missing. Yorke dribbled through the defence, beat Peacock twice and smashed it in. He completed his hat trick because he was totally unmarked in the box. Thankfully, Howey had placed a great header beyond the Villa goalie before Yorke ran riot.
We hung on, just. So what to make of it? For twenty minutes we clicked. It was a tantalising glimpse of what might be if we get it right. However, central midfield was over-run again (even when Villa were down to ten men). We need to play Clark alongside Batty, Lee is a shadow of the player he was. Defensivley I reckon that it's time for Albert to come back instead of the long haird get Peacock. Tactically we were amazingly stupid.
Player by player:Pav: Although he did not have much chance with any of the goals I would have expected him to pull off one great save ... if that makes sense.
Beresford: OK but I am still bewildered by Elliott's absence.
Watson: Not his fault that he was asked to do the tactically impossible.
Howey: The only really convincing defender. Also a great header which in the end was crucial.
Peacock: After sound recent performances I thought that maybe he was improving. This performance clearly shows what a useless prat he is after all. Albert must despair.
Batty: Going through a bad time at the moment. With Lee playing like the invisible man it means that Batty must carry the game to the opposition, not his strength. We need Lee Clark back.
Lee: Captain Useless!
Ginola: Nothing spectacular but pretty solid.
Gillespie: His best ever game for the toon. Villa's short-arsed full back (who's name I still can't remember) is meant to be quite useful. Gillespie had him sussed and delivered a string of excellent crosses.
Shearer\Ferdinand: Looking more like a 20 million strikeforce. We were lethal in the box against a very strong defence.
Asprilla: Came on for Ginola and was his usual self - giving the ball away one minute and nearly scoring an outrageously unorthodox goal the next. He is a class act and will surely play a significant part this season.
Villa: Played brilliantly in the second half. However they need a striker to play alongside Yorke. Milosovic is dire.
Ref: Not bad, he sent a Villa player off for two bookable offences which was a bit of a shock but in general he seemed to make the correct decisions.