Main Page
 

Newcastle	0-2	Barcelona
Half time:	0-0
Score Sheet:
		Kluivert (60) Motta (74)
	Teams
Given  Griffin  Bernard  Bramble O'Brien  Jenas  Dyer  Solano  Bellamy  Shearer Robert		Valdes Reiziger De Boer Andersson Gabri Mendieta Motta Xavi Rochemback Kluivert Riquelme
Substitutes:
(67) Viana for Robert (67) Ameobi for Solano		Gerard for Xavi (46) Iniesta for Mendieta (67) Sergio for Kluivert (70)
Subs not used:
Harper Hughes LuaLua Caldwell Kerr		Bonano Overmars Christanval Oleguer
Bookings:
Bernard		Xavi
Sendings off:
None		None
Referee: Jan Wegreef (Holland.) Slightly unorthodox at times, but all the better for it. No major gripes but equally this wasn't the most taxing of matches either as both sides played within the spirit of the laws and with a certain level of mutual respect, in stark contrast to Inter Milan's graceless methods.
Attendance: 51,833 including 181 Barca followers apparently. Although packed almost to the rafters, too often the home fans weren't sufficiently vocal in their support. Once again Patrick Kluivert was afforded the most generous of receptions by the home crowd, especially when substituted towards the end of the game. In view of his previously-stated admiration of Newcastle, Robson and the Premiership there are obviously many willing to believe that he's set to swap the Ramblas for the Bigg Market.

Half time: Newcastle 0 Barca 0

60 mins Only Titus Bramble and to a lesser extent Shay Given will know precisely why Patrick Kluivert ended up with the ball at his feet and a golden chance to slip it into a gaping Gallowgate goal, which he didn't pass up.

Bramble had the opportunity to whack the ball clear but chose to dally, presumably waiting for Given to react. He didn't.... but the Barca striker did. 0-1

PS: Unlike the costly goals conceded in the San Siro it's almost impossible to argue that Woodgate's presence in our defence would have made any difference.

It's a shame for Titus though after some recent top-drawer displays - at least he won't get saddled in a Jim Pearson type way for screwing up our Cup progress though - he can thank Leverkusen for that.

74 mins Thank you and buenos noches as Riquelme crossed from the Strawberry corner and Thiago Motta had ample time to volley home via the woodwork as the home defence stood stock still.  0-2

Full time: Newcastle 0 Barca 2
 

Sir Bobby said:

"We've enjoyed the ride, we've paid the money, got the ride, got off the tramcar - let's go again. We can do better.

"We're a learning side. Look at Jermaine Jenas' performance at 20 years of age, and Titus Bramble and Craig Bellamy and we have Shola Ameobi to come on and so forth.

"The championship is not over. Arsenal will come home wounded - I don't know what the effect of that is, I just know that in my opinion, with the players I've got, we'll bounce back. We always have.

"It's been great, a great experience, we've done very well in it. We haven't been over-awed, we haven't been out-classed in any of the games.

"We've lost 2-0 and people not at the game would think it's been easy for Barcelona. But it wasn't. We were clearly the better side with more possession, more chances, but didn't win the game.

"I'm not complaining about Titus - he's been marvellous. But he's got to learn that you can't play football with a lurking, dangerous centre-forward behind you. Don't think about playing football, just be a good defender and clear the ball out like they did.

"You can't concede goals like that. That goal belongs to the school yard. It doesn't belong to St James' Park. It was a stupid goal in a very highly important game.

"We've lost a match we shouldn't have lost. We've had an unlucky night. We got very little out the match and played reasonably well. We had the bulk of the play but defended absolutely abysmally for both goals.

"We've let ourselves down with the second goal and Titus, who had a brilliant game, made a schoolboy error and dithered on the ball.

"He should have dealt with it - or Shay should have come and got it - those goals don't belong at St James' Park.

"We had so many efforts - we'd have beaten a lot of sides. Some players have run miles and got nothing. I feel so sad for them.

"I'll tell you what, I don't think Patrick Vieira or Roy Keane could have run and worked harder than JJ and Dyer Nobody in our British league could have run more than those two players.

"They might have more experience, but in terms of box-to-box and digging - I mean, Kieron did the ugly side, not only with his runs and his spirit, he got to people, put his foot in and pressed them.

"He had two sides to his game. He had a creative side and he had the defensive qualities that you're looking for, obviously, in a midfield player, that you get from Keane and you get from Vieira.

"Now Dyer ain't going to do that sort of work as well as those two, of course he's not. He hasn't got the build, he hasn't got the physique of those two, he hasn't got the strength of those two. But his other qualities shone.

"And JJ, at 20, was outstanding, I thought. On the ball, his effort, his composure, his changing of the play. He hardly lost it, he won it in the air.

"We're just short of experience, but that experience will come. I'd rather stick with them because I know those lads will get better.

"They're kids, they're puppies."
 

Raddy Antic said:

"It was a good match. Newcastle were looking for a victory until the last minute and it was a good battle all the way through."

Reacting to questions about why his side are great in Europe and poor domestically:

"You're always asking me about the same thing and not allowing me to enjoy a victory. We should be very proud with the result tonight." 

About Patrick Kluivert:

"I'm delighted with his form and his selfless work for the group. If he carries on working like he did today, you cannot ask for me."
 

The final whistle sounded on this match and our European adventure for this season, but did so to a backdrop of cheering from home fans, rightly acknowledging efforts of both team and manager in taking us from a qualifying tie last August to the verge of the last eight.

And there on the edge of the pitch was Bobby, proudly taking the applause and waving to the stands as players of his current and former teams mingled in the centre circle, exchanging shirts and embraces.

Out we are, but out in good company (Arsene) and leaving a trail of memories and empty beer glasses across Europe. There's no chance for the players to take stock though, or the fans to try and relieve the pressure on stretched finances as straight away we're engaged in the struggle to get back in with the Euro big boys next season.

Going into this tie there was always a good chance that whatever we came up with on Tyneside wouldn't be any more than a statistic, given the unlikelihood of Leverkusen holding Inter Milan and notching their first point of the second stage at the sixth attempt.

And we were to be proved right, on a night when we finally used up our allocation of good fortune, and results returned to form.

Unlike the Feyenoord adventure when Juventus did us a good turn in Kiev, Leverkusen had less than nothing to play for, with domestic worries of their own to contend with. And although Barcelona also have more than their fair share of heartache in La Liga, their record-breaking Champions League form speaks for itself.

Given those circumstances it would take almost a double miracle for Newcastle to record the required result on Tyneside and the shell-shocked Germans defy Milan on home soil. And so it proved, with Newcastle tearing forward from the off, in what were at times desperate attempts to get that all-important first goal.

Bellamy in particular seemed to have found another gear and on more than one occasion almost beat himself, being unable to control the ball at the lightning pace he'd set himself. Shots went wide and one hit the post, but Valdes was never seriously tested in the Barca goal and when news broke of an Inter goal on 38 minutes, the end was in sight.

With radios and mobiles in hand, toon fans had no doubt geared themselves up for another night of gut-wrenching suspense, but unlike that night in Rotterdam, we were never actually in the frame. 

Right from the off we were the outsiders, that goal in Germany placed us further away and then finally after some mild excitement caused by a Milan penalty miss, Kluivert extinguished all hopes.

Thereafter we were going backwards and the substitutions didn't help - that said, one run from his own half by Viana to chase and harry a visiting player was a measure of our determination. No lack of effort or courage from the lads, but things just seemed to get away from us rather in the second half and we never quite discovered the guile to halt the slide.

Once the visitors had snaffled a second goal, a few of our flakier attendees sloped off, but most people stayed in their places until the dying embers of the game, and saw some smart passing and movement from the Catalans.

What atmosphere there had been died though, and at times the space in the centre of the park and the quietness off it put one in mind of the pre-season game at the same venue between the two sides. Maybe it was just too much of a leap of faith for the rank and file, maybe we never believed we could pull it off. Who can say?

Having survived our efforts in the first half, Barcelona were content to soak up the pressure and work the ball to Kluivert, content in the knowledge that our midfield runners had never quite managed to burst through and our supply lines into the box had never been properly established.

Once ahead they looked like they were playing within themselves and had they needed to, could have probably embarrassed us with another goal or two. 

Good luck to them in the rest of the competition, as they prove that it's possible to succeed in Europe without resorting to excess thuggery or skullduggery. 

In stark contrast to our pals from Milan I don't feel vaguely dirty wearing something with a Barca crest on......

As we're continually slated for even mentioning him, we'll just say two words and a date: Laurent Robert 2003. And then a few more: Keith Gillespie 1997. We hoped and prayed for a big performance from the Frenchman, but it never quite happened - although with some justification he can claim that the service to him was variable. 

So for the second time this season, a midweek 50,000+ crowd rolled up to see Barcelona deservedly record a victory on Tyneside. In the process they showed us that we may be on the right lines, but there's still a canny way to go before the press can write self-congratulatory articles about making the cream of Europe sit up and take notice. 

The loudest talking is done on the pitch. And thanks to the events in the BayArena, the outcome of our match was as meaningless as the pre-season friendly.

It's over. Thanks for the memories, now let's go and beat Blackburn, and get behind the lads by rediscovering our singing voices. It's not enough to just turn up.

Biffa

Back to Main Page