4 mins. Solano put in a great cross from our right that Speed rose to meet majestically and head against the foot of the post. It came back out and hit Hutchison before Speed, still on his backside, swept the ball in with his left foot.  1-0

Half time: Newcastle 1 mackems 0

68 mins. Possession was given away cheaply and it ended up on the left edge of our area with Phillips. He crossed and a near post collision cleared the way for the ball to end up at the feet of Hutchison who tucked it past Shay. Dirty Don checked with Poll twice that the goal had been given before elaborate celebrations by the corner flag. Newcastle fan, my arse. 1-1

76 mins. Rae put Gray away down the left and his first time cross landed on the head of Quinn who made no mistake. The cross was good but both Lee and Caldwell failed to make a telling challenge.  1-2

Full time: Newcastle 1 mackems 2

Match facts:

Highest attendance of the season at St. James' so once more we can churn out this: 

Largest attendance for any match at St.James' Park since 18.2.76 (Bolton in the FA Cup 52,760) and for a league match since 26.12.73 (Leeds 55,638).

We said:  

Uncle Bobby defended his captain: 

"Alan apologised but doesn't have to apologise to me or anyone else. He's scored goals all over the world from penalties so one of these days he was going to miss one.

"It's the one match he wouldn't want to miss it in so you can bet your boots he's not feeling too clever. He and I will have dinner together and drown each other out, I think.

"He just said `sorry lads, I've lost you the game', but he didn't. We know if he'd scored we may have gone on to win or certainly not lost, but we must take it.

"We must be bold enough and brave enough and have the courage to accept the disappointment and soldier on.

"I was really confident before the match. I thought we'd win and still did at half-time, but they beat us 2-0 in the second half.

"If the penalty had gone in and Solano's free-kick gone in we'd have a smile on our faces, but you must learn about taking the rough with the smooth. We must take it on the chin."

The last three derbies have all seen us take an early lead, only to concede two goals to the enemy each time which has cost us a total of eight Premiership points. However, an extra five points last year would have only meant a slightly higher mid-table finish and the three thrown away on Saturday are also unlikely to be crucial when it comes to the final day of the season on May 20th next year. Logically Saturday's demise probably won't matter much in the great scheme of things but when has logic had anything to do with Tyne-Wear derbies??

It's all about local pride and being able to go into work/school/the local the following Monday without having to suffer a barrage of abuse that will last for at least the next five months. Only then will we have the chance to make amends for the embarrassment that follows a defeat like Saturday's - North-East pride is an immeasurable and invaluable commodity. So, you would have thought that a team captained and managed by local lads should know what it's all about. Apparently not.

It's tempting but probably too simple to blame the foreigners for not understanding what was at stake. Liverpool, Dublin and London are undoubtedly nearer to Newcastle than darkest Peru or Chile but should that mean that players are less likely to understand the pain of failure and surrender. Surely not? Perhaps what we're now seeing on the pitch is a reflection of the apathy and complacency that has built up at our club for the last five years. Stadiums can be given face-lifts but when the heart has been ripped out of a club, a bit more than cosmetic surgery is required.

So who's to blame? Well, everybody. Players seem less willing to die for the cause, fans have become listless and spoilt, directors greedy and aloof and the net result is a good old fashioned spanking by the village idiots from down the road. What have we become? Well, it hurts to say it but Man United without the silverware. St.James' Park on Saturday resembled Old Trafford to an alarming degree. For half an hour it was a cauldron of noise and celebration as we swarmed all over the opposition. But our failure to go 3-0 up inside the first half hour seemed to cause some consternation.

And then what? The other lot decided they weren't going to roll over and die and started to fight back. How dare they. Quinn's header that was tipped away by Shay should have woken the team and the crowd up but instead we retreated further inside our shells. The equaliser had us reeling on the ropes and Quinn's winner had us throwing in the towel. When the going gets tough the tough go silent and walk out, apparently. There were 12 minutes left to inspire a fantastic comeback but some had gone well before Shearer's penalty miss. Even then a rousing finish could have been mustered if 50,000 voices had inspired a team that looked punch drunk. But if we couldn't be bothered then why should the team?

We weren't losing 4-0, we were a goal behind to the deadly enemy and as Canvey Island proved a never-say-die attitude can get you out of jail. I wonder how many of the 10,000 early-leavers had chanted "We can see you sneaking out" at Old Trafford? Next time they sing it I hope it chokes them. 

Niall MacKenzie