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Everton	1 - 3	Newcastle United
Half time:	0 - 1
Score Sheet:
(51) Weir		Bellamy (19) Solano (49) Acuna (86)
	Teams
Gerrard  Pistone  Weir Xavier Unsworth Alexandersson Radzinski Gemmill  Naysmith Campbell Gravesen		Given Hughes Elliott O'Brien Dabizas Robert Speed Solano Acuna Shearer Bellamy
Substitutes:
(23) Stubbs for Xavier (69) Ferguson for Campbell  (82) Gascoigne for Unsworth		LuaLua for Solano (89)
Subs not used:
Simonsen Hibbert		Harper Bassedas Distin Ameobi
Bookings:
Gemmill (75)		Acuna (36) Shearer (69) Solano (85)
Sendings off:
None		None
Referee: Jeff Winter (Stockton). We love you Jeffrey we do, but the Everton fans don't.... J Winter last 4 appearances at Goodison:  October 2001 Everton 1 Newcastle 3 April 2001 Everton 2 Liverpool 3 January 2001 Everton 0 Tranmere 3 Sept 2000 Everton 0 Ipswich 3
Attendance: 37,524 - toon end sold out, 3,078 according to local lore.  There were small clumps of empty seats across the ground, mostly behind pillars, these being the last to be sold - around 2,500 below capacity. Did the home fans sing the Gary Speed song? of course they did....within seconds of the player appearing on the pitch. Click here for an explanation: Gary Speed song

19 mins:  A long ball from Solano down the United right bounced just in front of the Everton area at the Park end of the ground. Gerrard hared off his line and outside his box in an attempt to head it clear, but became entangled with his defender Xavier. 

Both collided and fell in a heap, Craig Bellamy and the ball were left free on goal and the toon striker almost apologetically tapped it home. 1-0

Half time: Everton 0 Newcastle 1

49 mins:  A curling cross by Shearer from the United right was perfectly judged by the oncoming Nolberto Solano, who bravely stopped to glance a header home into Gerrard's bottom right hand corner despite the close attentions of his marker Pistone. 2-0

51 mins: A driven corner reached David Weir in the centre of the Newcastle box, and as his marker Speed declined to jump with him, he had no impediment as he headed home from 10 yards past a motionless Given and despite a flailing Acuna on the line.  2-1

86 mins: Again the speed of Bellamy proved to be our blessing and the undoing of the opposition. He sped away down the right into acres of space with plenty time to look up and see Robert moving in from the left. The pass duly arrived, and the Frenchman had time to lay a short ball infield to Clarence Acuna, who finished from close range.  3-1

Full time: Everton 1 Newcastle 3

Uncle Bobby on Bellamy:

"We lacked pace last season and (Craig) Bellamy has been a terrific buy in that respect.

"He plays on the edge, just off defenders' shoulders and if the delivery is right he can run away from anyone.

"He wants the ball in behind defenders and he will always be a threat. His pace got us out of trouble against Everton because, at 2-0, it was really on a knife-edge."

"We always play on the counter because sides can be vulnerable when they push on and that's how it proved. It was a terrific ball from Solano to set up Bellamy's goal, it's a one in 10 pass.

"It was well played and it was just an unfortunate collision between Xavier and Gerrard. Even I could have scored after that.

"Once Craig was almost on the verge of a booking, and I was on the line trying to control him. Gary Speed also went across and had a word with him, and Gary has to do that for me. 

He can talk to Craig on the pitch. He is a senior player and he is Craig's captain for Wales.

"Craig got a rough offside decision, he knew he was onside and he won't let go, but he has to let it go because the referee and linesman are not going to change their minds no matter what he says. All he will do in that case is get himself booked, but he's learning."

"Bellamy's pace for the third goal was just electric, they couldn't handle it.

"He played the right ball, he was sensible having made all the running, and Laurent Robert stayed cool and let Clarence Acuna score.

On the game:

"The performance of Everton was probably better than the result they got, but that's the way the Premiership is.

"It's smash and grab, it's give and take, we played on the counter, we had to, as they had a fair amount of the ball and greater possession.

"We've had some amazing results away from home this season, 4-0 at Bolton, 4-1 at Middlesbrough, and now 3-1 at Everton.

"And we also got a point from Chelsea, where we probably deserved to win it. We've only had one drab performance at West Ham, so away from home we've done very well."

Alan Shearer spoke to .cock:

"Yes, we rode our luck a little bit in the first-half, but I thought we were by far the better side in the second.

"I thought we defended very well as a team, and with the forwards we now have we are always going to get goals, and we proved that at Goodison Park on Saturday.

"If we can keep things tight at the back and minimise the chances the other teams get we are going to do well and stay in the top six.

"I don't mind going out to the wing as long as it is the right, and I actually enjoy it. I can whip in half-decent crosses and that has been one of the strengths of my career.

"At the end of the day I thought we did well in what was a good all-round team performance. We knew we faced an onslaught in the last five or ten minutes, but once we got the third goal we knew we had the three points.

"We were all bitterly disappointed at what happened against Spurs the previous weekend, and the manner of our defeat, and it was important that we bounced back and that's exactly what we did."

Shay Given summed up his season so far:

"Obviously I started off with a bit of a nightmare at Chelsea, which wasn't very good - it was an horrendous mistake. Goalkeepers all make mistakes, just like anybody else, and we are judged on them. Over the course of a season, every goalkeeper will make a good few mistakes.

"It's just a case of minimising the amount you make. The gaffer has been good to me, he's stuck by me and I owe him a lot for that.

"We've got to turn the home form around because we've had a couple of bad results now at St James's - we've got to get three points, but it will be a tough, tough game because they're sitting top of the league at the minute and are a strong outfit.

"Last year we struggled to score goals - especially away from home, we could not put the ball in the net. This year we're scoring a lot of goals and hopefully that will continue.

"There's more belief this season. We've got a good squad of players - not a big squad but a good squad - and hopefully we can stay clear of injuries and suspensions because we're still short on the squads of the big four."

Shay talking about the impending World Cup Play-off:

For what's at stake - a place in the World Cup - I think I would walk to Tehran. 

"When I got dropped (by Newcastle) I was dropped by Ireland as well, so it's important that I'm playing every week.

"This is a big season for myself because hopefully we can get to the World Cup, the play-off game is coming up next month and it's the highlight of anybody's career going to the World Cup.

"It's a massive game, we know how important it is. It will be OK and I don't think there will be any problem with any of the lads going out there."

Everton boss Walter Smith commented:

"If anything we played better than we did last week - to end up losing was very, very disappointing but I suppose it just was not to be our day."

This was Newcastle's third away win in the Premiership this season, one less than we managed in the entire 2000/01 campaign.

The hosts finished the game with a trio of SJP old boys on the field, in the shape of Alessandro Pistone, Paul Gascoigne and Duncan Ferguson.  

Once again, goalkeepers played a central role in a Newcastle away success, but for a change the hosts kept theirs on the field for 90 minutes - unlike Boro's Mark Schwarzer (31minutes) and Jussi Jaaskelainen of Bolton Wanderers (60 minutes).

With both teams making average starts but Everton looking the more likely to score, a charge by Paul Gerrard similar to that which prompted Jaaskelainen's early bath instead saw him hit a defender rather than the ball, leaving Bellamy to sweep up the loose ends.

Once in front, we relied on the agility of our own keeper to prevent the blues from adding to the eight goal haul Goodison had enjoyed in the previous two home games, and clad in a baseball cap to deflect the sun, Given was in good form.

An equalising goal after the interval would have set things up for a cracking second period, but failing to read the script we doubled our lead after another dangerous break upfield caught Everton napping - a bit like Liverpool and Spurs had done to us in recent weeks.

Precisely one minute and fifteen seconds later we had blown our chances of a third consecutive away clean sheet, but the blame for not keeping out Weir's header lay more with the outfield players than the Newcastle 'keeper.

Given then continued to justify his place and earn his pay, abetted by another strong performance from the increasingly impressive O'Brien. Since arriving in a low-key move from downwardly mobile Bradford, this lad has seen his game and contribution improve as his confidence increases, and is on the way to establishing himself at international level in front of Given. Proof that there are talented players in this country from smaller clubs that don't have to cost the earth - they're not all Wayne Quinn clones....

Back to action, and whoever got the next goal was always going to be in the driving seat as far taking a point or points was concerned. It looked as if it would be the home side, at least until the crowd got it's way and the creaking bones of Duncan Ferguson entered the fray. While the "old boy" rule of course was in grave danger of being implemented, Campbell's mobility had caused us far more headaches than the lumbering Scotsman. He did manage one rising shot on target, but again Given was equal to that.

With eight minutes remaining, Everton played their joker (literally) with the arrival on the field of Gazza, warmly applauded by both sets of fans, in contrast to Fergie, who was ignored by the toon contingent - not booed (like Pistone), just ignored. A suitable mirror image of the contempt he showed us during his lucrative stint on Tyneside methinks.

While the former Geordie maestro showed a couple of decent touches in midfield, he was involved in losing possession as Newcastle charged forward with four minutes remaining and made weight of numbers count with their third goal. That really was that, and Walter Smith's men realised the game was up as the home fans streamed away.

For us, Solano again saved himself from another poor mark by getting on the scoresheet and Shearer eventually came good after some unimpressive moaning to the referee. Robert again flitted in and out, but at least was aware enough to see Bellamy's run and serve up the third goal for Clarence on a plate. As for the first goalscorer, Jeff Winter showed some leniency and didn't wave a yellow card for his uprooting of the corner flag after scoring or later outbursts when decisions went against him. Either would have had other refs reaching for the pocket.

So, probably the most competitive game between the two sides on this ground in the Premiership ended with the right result for the toon. Before we get carried away though, at this stage last year we had also won three away games (Coventry, Man City, Boro) were still in the League Cup and lay 4th with 16 points - only one point behind this season's total. Ten games later, and we'd accumulated 14 more points and sat in 7th as the players had their belated Xmas celebration on Boxing Day evening. To achieve parity with that position this season, we need to do two things:

1. Remember how to win our home games (Villa, Derby, Blackburn, Boro, Chelsea) and how to play against teams who won't conveniently move up the pitch en masse, allowing us to exploit gaps at the back with our quickies. 

2. At last break the spell of South-East based calamities (Fulham, Ipswich, Charlton, Arsenal)

With a trip to Leeds completing the lineup of the next ten games (where let's face it, anything could happen), there's a good deal of work to be done just to stay up with the top half dozen sides without relying on yet more point-pinching and losing inconsistency from a number of teams. And after that is when our low point traditionally comes - if it wasn't for FA Cup success in the early months of a new year, we'd not have had much to shout about in recent seasons.

Bobby is still looking to strengthen his squad, but in the absence of cash has to don the guise of a wheeler-dealer manager to shuffle his pack (whatever that means). It could be argued that the return of Dyer and Cort will be like having two new signings, but history has shown that as one casualty returns so another one succumbs. It's not that we're wet blankets, it's that we've built platforms before, only to topple off them at the first hint of turbulence.

Anyway, that's enough looking of into the future - we'll all look older, beer will be more expensive, and the telly just as crap. Back to the here and now:

Once more then, the travelling fans went home having seen goals and a victory, and if not a great performance then a battling and effective use of our resources. As most newspaper reports and the manager said, we were fortunate but how often have we come off a field cursing our ill luck for gaining no reward despite a good effort? Hackneyed cliché it may be, but these things do have a habit of evening themselves out - however your correspondent is a firm believer that it's over a lifetime, not a season.

Onwards and upwards and let's look forward to a rip-roarer against the Villa. This is meant to be an entertainment, let's hope we can enjoy it next Saturday at least without the self-inflicted blow of a sloppily-conceded early goal.

Biffa
 
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