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Newcastle United	3 - 0	Charlton
Half time:	1 - 0
Score Sheet:
(22) Speed (46) LuaLua (89) Shearer
	Teams
Given Hughes Elliott Distin O'Brien Solano Speed Robert Dyer Shearer LuaLua		Kiely Young Rufus Costa Konchesky Stuart Kinsella Parker Robinson Johansson Euell
Substitutes:
(70) Dabizas for O'Brien (78) Bernard for Robert (78) Jenas for Solano		Lisbie for Parker (73) Fortune for Euell (90)
Subs not used:
Bellamy Harper		Bart-Williams Brown Ilic
Bookings:
Bernard (81)		Costa (54) Parker (58)
Sendings off:
None		None
Referee: Mike Dean (Cheshire) - an idiot.
Attendance: 51,360 - With only a small neutral zone between the toon and Charlton fans, plus more than usual in the expensive Milburn "wing paddock" seats, more proof that the crowd figures seem to be invented.

22 mins Simplicity itself as Solano's well-delivered corner was met perfectly by Gary Speed's header and forcefully propelled into the Leazes net.Keeper Kiely and the men on the line were rendered somewhat useless by the power and accuracy of the contact.  1-0

Half time: Newcastle 1 Charlton 0

46 mins Controlling a dropping ball, Lomana LuaLua twisted and turned in the box before dispatching a perfect drive beyond Kiely into the far corner.

The finish was reminiscent of Andy Cole but nobody has celebrated a goal at SJP in quite this manner before surely: reeling off no less than seven successive somersaults - a feat which drew almost as much applause from the crowd as his goal.  2-0

89 mins Having just seen one effort saved, Alan Shearer was eager for another pop and found space in a central position as Gary Speed advanced with the ball. The number 9 made no mistake, dispatching a powerful drive from just inside the box. Not bad for a battered old warhorse about to be put out to graze....

Even the away fans joined in the applause as the toon fans very nearly raised the roof, and cheers gave way to singing his name as the game restarted. A fairly quick final whistle was the cue for another ovation, with his playing colleagues and Toon coaches forming an impromptu guard of honour as Shearer left the field carrying the match ball. 3-0

Full time: Newcastle 3 Charlton 0

Bobby Robson gushed: 

"It was a marvellous day all round. We were efficient and functional and we had quality in the right places and at the right time. It was a good win with Leeds and Chelsea losing and we now need one point to get into the Champions League.

"It is a terrific achievement for the club to be in this position with three games remaining. It has been a great year for everyone concerned with the club.

"The icing on the cake was obviously Alan Shearer getting his 200th goal in the Premiership. Everybody was willing him to get it. I wouldn't say he was getting irritated, but he will be relieved he has got it chalked up now and he can look to his next 100.

"Outside of the top three we've been the country's favourite team. We've played some gorgeous football at times and to have scored a 100 goals shows the type of football we have played and the players deserve it.

"I wouldn't say getting into the Champions League was beyond our wildest dreams because we do have wild dreams, but it is a big achievement all the same and a big improvement. We have played some wonderful football, both home and away."

And said about his captain:

"He would have jumped down St James' Boulevard if one had hit him on the nose. He's played with a fracture that won't heal for a while and he's been brave to play.

"He wanted to play because he thought today would maybe be the day he could get the 200, and it's turned out great for him.

"Everybody was willing him to get it. I wouldn't say it's been irritating him, but it's in the back of the net now, it's chalked up and he's on for his next hundred.

"Alan Shearer got a standing ovation on Saturday at the place he wanted it most - St James's Park - and it was really deserved.

"He is a great person and a fantastic footballer. He has a wonderful personality and he is a model professional.

"He is a role model for any young boy to follow. And not just as a centre forward but in any position.

"I have worked with some of the best strikers in the game: Romario, Ronaldo, Paul Mariner, Peter Beardsley and three years ago in Holland - Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

"But none of them are any better than Alan Shearer either on the pitch or on the training ground.

"No praise is too high for Alan and the affection I have for him is immense."

Alan Shearer said about his goal:

"I'd been thinking today was the day before our last two matches, but ironically I had started to think I would get the 200th goal at Blackburn on Tuesday, where I had scored so many in the past.

"The longer it went on, the more I thought that, especially when the keeper saved well from me five minutes earlier.

"It was a great pass from Gary Speed and I can't tell you how delighted I was when it hit the back of the net.

"The reception I received from the fans was something I will never forget - I was delighted to do it in front of my people, if you like, and in front of the Gallowgate end.

"It's a special moment and the reception was fantastic. The fans have been like that ever since I arrived in 1996.

"I'm pleased I've got it as the longer it goes on the harder it gets. It is out of the way now and I've got the opportunity to score a few more now.

"I'm sure Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen will have one eye on beating me, but it will take them some time. It does give me personal satisfaction. It is not nice when people write you off and that has happened to me a fair few times during my career.

"But it is more important the team is successful and we are getting the rewards for the hard work we have displayed this season.

"To reach 100 goals in a season is a great achievement, but that is the way Bobby (Robson) wants us to play. He always wants us to score as many goals as we can."

Bobby about LuaLua:

"He did very well and he got a very good goal.

"He did three somersaults when he scored the winner at Derby and he did seven when he scored against Charlton so he has doubled his ratio in more ways than one.

"But it was a clever goal, he turned in the box and fired a nice cross shot past the goalkeeper into the corner.

"It was much needed as at the time it was 1-0 and that wasn't going to be good enough in this match.

"It was Mick Wadsworth who recommended Lua Lua to me in the first place and he has been proved right.

"He said to me there was a young kid at Colchester we should look at and we did. John Carver and Steve Clarke both went down separately. I went down and saw Lua on the Saturday and I stayed down and had another look at the lad on the Monday night.

"Funnily enough our chief scout Charlie Woods wanted Spurs to sign him when he was at White Hart Lane and West Ham were interested. But I kept pressing our chairman and he backed me and came up with the money.

"We knew Lua had a lot to do but we also knew he had a lot to offer."

While little Treasure himself commented:

"It's been worth the wait - even though I felt dizzy after all those somersaults. That's what I have been waiting for - to score a Premiership goal in front of our own fans at St James's Park.

"The manager has always told me not to be afraid to take a gamble, so I just went for it. And once I had the ball under control in the penalty area the only thing in my mind was to make sure it ended up in the back of the net.

"Sometimes you need a goal to give you a lift, and scoring at Derby County last Saturday was a great boost to me going into the Charlton game.

"And when you have people like Alan Shearer, Gary Speed and Kieron Dyer encouraging you all the time it really helps your confidence.

"I honestly cannot remember just how many somersaults I did - I just stopped when I felt a bit dizzy.

"A lot of lads had seen the Scotland game with Nigeria in midweek and the way their Aghahowa celebrated after he scored. They told me I had to beat what he did - but I was more concerned about making sure I landed on my two feet.

"I owe a big thank you to the manager for giving me a chance and I would like to think that I did well for him.

"We have so many great strikers here at Newcastle that when you do get your chance you have to make sure you grab it with both hands.

"The competition always brings the best out of you and hopefully I can carry on from this. I have learned so much since I came to Newcastle from Colchester United a couple of years ago.

"The manager has been great to me and coaches John Carver and Tommy Craig have always encouraged me too.

"I was so happy for Alan. He's a great help to a younger player like myself and it was fantastic that he got the goal he wanted in front of his own fans.

"It was a very good day for us all round with Chelsea and Leeds losing and the most important thing on the day was us getting the three points and moving closer to that Champions' League place."
 

Alan Curbishley said:

"I don't think it was a fair reflection: it was a fair reflection of their finishing and final ball. We've come away here (after losing) 3-0 and it looks as if we've been pummelled and we haven't. But we've got to score more goals.

"We had some great opportunities to play people in and try to fashion something, and that's the biggest disappointment. 

"I can't keep asking my back four to keep holding out all the time. It's been the situation for the last three or four weeks that we haven't scored any goals.

"The one thing I felt as Shearer went through was that he was going to score, and that's not luck. It was the same with Gary Speed for the first goal.

"That's not luck, that's because they do it on the training ground and they do it on match days.

"We can't expect to mix it with the top four or the top six unless my players start doing it on the training ground and start doing it on match days."
 

Now here's a question for you...when did Newcastle United last score at least three goals without reply in a league match at St. James' Park against a team from London? 

Answer at the end of this section...

Our failure to win Premiership matches against London-based clubs on Tyneside was ignored as we finally won against Charlton in the Premiership - scoring our first goals against them on Tyneside. This just leaves Fulham of all the teams that have featured in the Premiership who we haven't yet beaten either home or away.

Alan Shearer got his long-awaited 200th Premiership goal in his 400th club start and our 100th senior goal of the season in our 50th first team game (at the 100th Newcastle game NUFC.com has attended this season!). Bet he wished he'd got the 2nd goal in this game though...

Next records for Alan to aim for are his 100th toon league goal (today was his 88th) and his 300th club goal in all competitions (43 Saints, 130 Rovers, 116 toon = 289.)

One record he'll be looking to keep up this season though is that of scoring 20 league goals - he's currently on 19 and will hope to rack up his 6th season of making the magic 20, having done it three times at Blackburn and twice for us (96/97 and 99/00.)

Lomana LuaLua got his second goal in two games which was also our 100th in the league against Charlton and possibly the 5000th senior Newcastle goal at St. James'.* Gary Speed got things underway with a first half header - his first goal since December.

At the other end Shay Given celebrated his 26th birthday in the best possible way with a clean sheet and couple of vital saves.

(* A figure that is almost impossible to define with abandoned games and disputed scorelines.)
 

Answer to our question: Newcastle 3 West Ham 0, March 1996.
 

Grey skies have cleared up, put on a happy face....yes, we appear to have slipped back into the winning habit that we exhibited earlier in the season, just in the nick of time to claim that much-coveted fourth place, barring a spectacular calamity. 

After the Bellamy-less interlude that coincided with the appearance of some formidable opposition and the disappearance of our self-belief (and genuine pace and danger up front), we've returned to the comfort zone, and still we await the reappearance of the PFA young player of the year.

Ample reason then for satisfaction and optimism in equal doses, and the feeling of a job well done, even if we haven't claimed gold, silver or bronze.   

On a day when the ghost of Roy Castle seemed to be in residence at the Park, records went tumbling here there and everywhere, and the familiar face of England's former number nine beamed out from TV screens across the globe.

While Bobby poured forth with crowd-pleasing nonsense by the gallon, the limelight was also shared by the diminutive figure of LuaLua. It was Winston Churchill who famously called Russia "...a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" but he may as well have been talking about our former Colchester acrobat.

Being spectres at the feast as usual, it has to be asked whether uncle Bobby now regrets failing to replace the absent Bellamy with "Little Treasure" from the off, instead of opting for the ring-rusty Cort.

We may never know the answer to that one, along with whether we would still be maintaining an interest in FA Cup or Championship, but it's important not to be dazzled by the admittedly eye-catching tricks, flicks and tumbles of the Congo conjurer. As Brian's mum nearly said in the Life of Brian "He's not the Messiah, he's a very talented boy."    

One of the "perks" of watching the reserves religiously is the chance to pontificate to you lot at length about who's hot and who's not in the stiffs. Now let it be said that we've enjoyed the 9 goals the wee man has scored this season in the second XI, but it's not all been joy and wonderment. 

Maybe he deserved a go for the first team earlier in the season, but at the expense of who?

Maybe not getting a go then dented his confidence, but he had a poor time in mid-season and of course didn't do himself any favours by defying the club to saunter off to play in the African Nations Cup for Congo.

More recently he has shown (finally) an increased maturity and awareness of his team mates, producing a better standard and range of passing, as well as teeing up the likes of Chopra for goals, and for that he deserved a go at the higher level - possibly in a wide role. We could also say that his performances and effectiveness for

Tommy Craig's side improved immeasurably within seconds of Ameobi being out of the team, but that's a tad unkind...........and accurate. 

If it was a criminal case, the jury would be out. Let's just say that our comment from September 2000 is only now starting to become relevant: "When he's warmed up and attuned to playing with Solano, Dyer et al, we could have something very exciting on our hands."  

As for the rest of the side, the final score and some individual passages of play will live longer in the collective consciousness than the actual game, in which Charlton seemed content to gradually slip away as the afternoon wore on. Speed's goal was a reminder of his usefulness to the side, while Solano chalked up another assist to delight fantasy football fans and Opta statisticians alike.

At the back Distin was never in danger and seemed content to play sensibly rather than attempt daft passes - hopefully the Fulham game was just a one-off then. In truth we were rarely tested as Charlton's midfield block seldom looked like approaching our goal, and Johansson and Euell lacked support and service all afternoon.

Given still had to make a couple of half-decent stops, and with a more positive approach from Charlton we could have been in bother until LuaLua got the crucial second, prompting Curbishley's men to then pull up the duvet and settle down for a defeat. We've seen it from our lads many times in end of season games with nowt at stake, human nature I suppose.....

Home fans had arrived at the ground in apparent good heart, many having seen Chelsea's Champs league challenge comprehensively snuffed out by another United, and the players were warmly welcomed. However, things quickly returned to normal, with only occasional bursts of life to raise the noise level above a murmuring, county cricket sort of pitch.

Of course Lua's goal and Shearer's landmark were richly applauded, and deservedly so, while that old barometer of a good win was noticeable - fans singing as they were exiting the ground past the Milburn main entrance. But at other times it was awfully quiet, with little pockets of resistance (Level 7 centre and Leazes/East stand back row) gradually succumbing to the dominant torpor.

Having never been remotely in favour of the much-mooted singing section idea before, this season has started to sew the seeds of doubt in my mind. Could it work? How many people would want to join up, and how many people would have to be unwillingly coerced into shifting? Put simply, what are the chances of the club fouling it up?

There should be one large singing section in the away end at Ewood Park, and with only a point needed for confirmation of Champs League action, no doubt Shearer will be looking for goals 201, 202 etc. Rovers though have laid on some good displays at home for their fans this season, and we may have to wait until Glenn Roeder brings his hammers to toon for our party to really get started. 

Whether there's anything riding on that game or not though, it'll still be a genuinely deserved lap of honour that the players will no doubt embark upon, in contrast to some previous seasons when the words "contractual obligation" seemed to be the order of the day.         

PS: After recent correspondence on NUFC.com about booing etc. we'll refrain from making further comment about the moribund atmosphere for approximately 86 minutes of this game.

However we simply can't stop ourselves from chortling merrily at a number of people in Bar 1892 (and we're talking double figures here) who hadn't retaken their seats when Lua scored, and had buggered off seconds before Shearer's record-breaker. Thanks for all your lovely money, hope the vol-au-vents were nice.

PPS: There's no mention of Laurent Robert in this waffle, as he wasn't worthy of one. Simple as that.  

Biffa

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