Half time: Newcastle 0
Portsmouth 0
48mins
After James Milner had pushed into the Pompey area, the lively
Giuseppe Rossi
controlled the ball, twisted and fired home in one movement - ignoring
the sprawled out Steven Taylor and his dodgy penalty appeal to finish in
style. 1-0
53mins Duff served up a dream of a left wing cross and it was
finished by the unlikely figure of Nolberto Solano, who buried his header
into the roof of the Gallowgate net.
2-0
90mins A run to the byline and pullback from Milner ended with Nolberto
Solano
deflecting a half-clearance into the goal to round off the night.
3-0
Full time:
Newcastle 3 Portsmouth 0
Glenn Roeder commented:
"I was pleased with all of them (the players).
"There are a number of players who started the game who have been heavily
criticised lately and they probably had their best game of the season (a
reference to Titus).
"What pleased me about that is
they showed the character you would want them to. When you are criticised, if
you are not a man, it is easy to fold and curl up and go away.
"But those players did not,
those players went out and put in their best game of the season. I am pleased
for them.
"I'm pleased for the players -
not pleased for myself, pleased for the players.
"They have deserved better in
the last few weeks - they know that, I know that, I'm not sure other people
realise that - but they have deserved better and they have not had the breaks.
"After the first fifteen
minutes, once we got used to the conditions and they type of football we had to
play, we ran out worthy winners.
"We could have scored more
goals - it's a long time since we scored three.
"But don't worry about me, I'm
so pleased for the players.
"Giuseppe Rossi has been very
patient waiting for an opportunity. He will certainly get plenty of
opportunities between now and the end of December.
"It was a fantastic finish. I
would expect him to finish there because I have seen it so often.
"I have seen it in games when
he was at Manchester United, whether it was his opportunities in the first team
or in reserve-team football.
"He is, in my opinion, a
natural goal scorer, and he worked so hard for the team as well. He was a real
pain for their defence.
"Now we need to build on that and take the performance into Saturday.
The boys can't wait for Saturday."
On Dyer:
"I took that decision (to include him) when I watched him play
(in Tuesday's friendly v Darlo).
I pulled him off after 60 minutes. The intention was he was going to play a full
90 minutes, but he was so outstanding in that game at the training ground, it
occurred to me I ought to be putting him on the bench for the game," Roeder
said.
The former West Ham boss added: "I thought it would give everyone a lift.
He's got great respect in our dressing room and I thought by putting him on the
bench not only would he give us a lift, he would give our supporters a lift.
"I didn't particularly have intentions of putting him on, but when he was
called into action, we saw there how very quick he is, how rapid he is when he
carries the ball and he was unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions."
Dyer has been blighted by a long line of injury problems, the latest complaint
being a torn hamstring, but Roeder claimed that the ex-Ipswich star was
"very happy" to be on the brink of returning to regular first-team
action.
"I'm so pleased to see Kieron Dyer with a smile on his face again."
'Arry Redknapp had gone to see a geezer
in a boozer about a motor, so Linvoy Primus stood on:
“We’ve played on worse.
We’re disappointed because we haven’t
had a cup run for a while but we can’t blame the conditions for the fact we
lost.”
The Pompey boss popped up later to say:
'Linvoy has picked up a hamstring injury and
that may be a problem.
We have Dejan injured and Glen Johnson out with a thigh strain, too.
'Having three of your back four out is not a good situation. We're hoping they
can play but suddenly we are struggling. If we lose a couple of key players it
appears we have problems.
'Clearly we have a few issues defensively if we get injuries.'
'We have signed players who have made a massive difference, but when we take
them out we're not the same team.
'You give a few people a rest and bring a few in and they didn't do the job.
No-one really impressed me.
'We have O'Brien, Lomana Lualua, Niko Kranjcar, Manuel Fernandes and Andy Cole
who need games and we had to play them.
'I wanted to beat Newcastle and it was a wasted opportunity.'
Our 115th game and 50th victory in the League Cup.
First goal in a Newcastle shirt for Giuseppe Rossi on what was
his first start for the club.
The last player to do that was Steve Caldwell, who marked what
was also his home debut with a goal in the 4-3 Third Round victory
over Bradford City in October 2000.
Kieron Dyer's first appearance of the season after injury and
illness that had kept him sidelined since the away win at the mackems
in April 2006.
Two goals for Nobby Solano, his first in the League Cup for us
at the 15th attempt. He had previously scored in this competition for
Villa against QPR - one of only 2 appearances he made in that
competition for them.
Nobby notched 38 goals in his first spell with the club and has
now grabbed 8 since his return. Making it to the half century
would be a notable achievement indeed.
|
Waffle |
Some
miserable beggars would have you believe that this match should never have taken
place.
Incessant rain had certainly made the St. James' surface sodden but definitely
not unplayable.
Those
of us that can recall water polo games against the mackems (pre and post
Premiership) and monsoons against Wrexham (goal-kicks being blown out for
corners) weren't impressed by a spot of inclement weather though.
True,
there were areas of the pitch that had standing water on them and the run of the
ball was affected, but to deny the modern generation of fans the spectacle of a
ball sticking in a puddle would have been churlish to say the least.
Some
sanctimonious local scribes put forward the notion of our delicate multimillion
pound stars putting their precious fitness on the line in such conditions.
Poppycock.
Shearer
and Owen's worst injuries came on perfect playing surfaces while this time last
year, our first team were dropping like flies on the carpet-like turf at Darsley
Park.
It
seems to me that players slipping and sliding around as if they were on a local
heat of "It's a Knockout" is probably safer than high speed, high
impact challenges on turf that is tightly-bound and unforgiving.
No,
our man in yellow with the appropriate surname was spot-on in letting this game
go ahead and play to a finish. Well done to ref, Andre Marriner, for allowing
the show to go on and avoid a horrendous fixture pile-up.
Looking
at both sides warming up, there didn't seem any danger of a postponement,
although the rain was constant and heavy. The floodlights illuminating great
sheets of rainfall being blown in all directions exaggerated the conditions but
to be honest, parts of the Wigan game in August were probably played in worse
conditions.
Both
matches witnessed the hilarious sight of Titus Bramble's ample backside skidding
for fully 15 yards as he made timely interventions. For the beleaguered Bramble,
the game was a personal triumph. Perhaps our hapless defender likes the going to
be soft-to-subaqua....
Surprisingly
tonight, it also seemed to galvanise the workshy Babayaro who flung himself
around like a man possessed. One Exocet-like challenge near the dugouts in
particular sparked off all sorts of shenanigans, ending in a booking for
Thompson after erstwhile Olympian Celestine performed a double salco and twist.
The
visitors seemed quicker to adapt to the watery surface and cam close to grabbing
an early lead when a long range Kranjcar effort almost squirmed through Harper's
grasp.
Butt
also seemed to relish the conditions and he and N'Zogbia were winning tackles,
with Solano and Milner also getting stuck in. One run from the latter saw him
reprise a forward burst from Sunday - riding several challenges hurrying his
shot and spurning the chance to notch a truly memorable goal that his work-rate
thoroughly deserves.
Up
front, Rossi and Martins had their moments but they were few and far between in
the first 45, the latter executing a delicate chip that almost embarrassed James
but ended up on the roof of the Leazes net.
It wasn't the first or last moment reminiscent of another night when the heavens
opened on a Magpies manager under pressure - a chip at the Leazes End sealing
the fate of Ruud Gullit. However to cast sub Albert Luque in the Shearer or
Ferguson role doesn't really ermm....hold water.
That
night was also memorable for Kieron Dyer's first goal for United and after
numerous false dawns, this became the game in which he began to resurrect his
Gallowgate career.
Note use of the word "began" there: until he's played a lot of
football without injury and contributed goals and assists, then Dyer has failed
to a) answer his critics b) save Roeder's job or c) put his fitness worries
behind him - three things that certain journalists are just itching to
write...
By
the time the prodigal son made his latest return, we were already two-up and on
our way to victory. Duff had come on for Martins at the break and whether injury
had enforced the change or not, great credit must go to Roeder & Co for the
transformation in the second half.
If
it was tactical, then putting Duff on was a masterstroke. We came out looking
like a completely different side, attacking from the off and the first goal
wasn't long in coming.
A
free-kick was eventually played to Taylor who went crashing to the ground under
a challenge.
While others appealed and the Pompey defence stood still, Rossi swivelled and
hit a low drive beyond James to open his Toon account in style.
The
celebrations on the pitch were long and enthusiastic - a side under-fire proving
their critics wrong? A siege mentality has obviously been developed in the ranks
during the recent poor run of form, which isn't a bad thing.
The
big test was whether our lot could hold on to yet another lead and the
thankfully for all concerned, answer was emphatically
provided a few minutes later.
Duff once again scampered down the left and his cross was perfect for Solano to
thunder an unstoppable header into the roof of the net - his momentum taking him
sliding into the advertising hoardings.
It was another joyous moment that the whole team celebrated and for once, the
leaping about in the stands was pretty enthusiastic too.
Pompey
looked a beaten side from that moment on and when Dyer took to the field the
feel-good factor was at an all-time high. His reception was fantastic -
obviously buoyed by the two-goal lead but for me, the standing ovation was a bit
over the top for someone whose career break may well have been at least partly
self-induced.
Although
I'm delighted Dyer's enormous wages are now actually paying for something other
than designer labels and bling, let's not forget his chequered past. Refusal to
play on the wing, tossing away of the armband and numerous off-field
misdemeanours haven't been forgotten by this site.
Various
reports said that Dyer's contribution was lively and effective. He certainly
caused a problem or two and almost grabbed himself a goal on his return, but was
I the only one to notice that one thirty yard dash saw him absolutely shattered?
He
sprinted like a madman through the middle before losing control and for the next
few minutes he wandered around gingerly as if his legs had turned to jelly -
just like he had at the Hawthorns on his last unsuccessful comeback.
If
we are are still to believe the hamstrings tale we have been spun for the last
few years, then his latest return needs to be backed up by strong and effective
90 minute performances. I'll wait for a few of those before he gets a standing
ovation from me....
Rossi
nearly bagged a second but hit his shot up at James when something low and hard
would have surely made the net bulge again.
Portsmouth
had one last attempt to break our defences late on and looked to have done it
when LuaLua's goalbound attempt was helped in by a team mate who was offside on
the line. The ref also seemed to indicate he had used a hand, although avoiding
any sort of contact would have seen his side get one back.
But
this was to be our night and although the Gods had seen fit dump bucket loads of
wet stuff on our heroes, above the clouds they continued to smile on them when a
clearance ricocheted to Solano's feet six yards out. He couldn't miss.
On
a night when former Mags, O'Brien, Cole and LuaLua could have poured more misery
on our old-boy manager, it went completely the other way. Whether this will be a
welcome confidence booster or just a slight diversion from the worrying league
campaign remains to be seen.
However,
Roeder's post-match quotes were a little spiteful, although headlines of 'We've
proved critics wrong' were over-dramatic and outside of his control.
The
league table still shows us in 16th with just seven points from 27 - one good
Carling Cup win doesn't change that.
Glenn may want to retain his "I told you so" comments until the end of
the season, should he still be here..., but if it's all part of harbouring a
tight team spirit then that's fine by me.
Only a win against Charlton though will make this 3-0 victory against a
Premiership form side more than just a futile cup splashabout.
Niall Mackenzie
Our immediate post-match scribblings were as follows:
Given a starting place for the first time since joining
us, on-loan striker Giuseppe Rossi repaid his selection with a finely-taken goal
and a lively display to help ease us into the Fourth Round of the Carling Cup.
However while Rossi's contribution will have pleased Glenn Roeder, there's also
an element of irony in watching a striker borrowed from another Premiership side
make more of an impact than the £10m striker alongside him - or the £11m one
languishing on the bench.
Luque was an unused sub, while Martins exited at half time after managing two
decent efforts - one a tricky lob from the right flank that ended up on the roof
of the net; the other a sizzling volley from a corner that flew over the bar.
That aside though, there was little of note.
Rossi meanwhile played the full game, showed some good control and trickery in
the early stages and in general looked up for the fight - doubtless pleased just
to be playing.
Rested for this tie were Ameobi, Parker and Carr, while Duff and Ramage began
the night on the bench before appearing on the field. Emre and Sibierski were
unavailable due to injury, while Craig Moore took the Captain's armband.
While a win of any sorts is welcome at present and scoring three goals without
reply is a rare treat, there has to be some sort of context applied here.
Not for the first time, questions could be asked about a defence at SJP
featuring Andy O'Brien, while the visitors in general seemed resigned to their
fate once behind - leaving it late before rousing themselves when two down.
But as we had done against Fenerbahce there was a sense of a commitment to
getting the job done and some solid displays - Bramble especially seeming to
relish the conditions.
Certainly this was a country mile away from our last tie in this competition -
the disgraceful non- display at Wigan last season (from which only N'Zogbia and
Solano were in the starting XIs for both games).
Our advice for Saturday's home game against Charlton (who won tonight against
Bolton)? Start with Rossi on Saturday and water the pitch.....if it ever stops
raining.
PS: If this result does one thing, it will hopefully give a boost to the
collective mood of the SJP crowd in advance of the next game.
It remains in the hands of the players to keep the crowd on their side - the
anti-Shepherd chants of last Sunday came about because of frustration with
events on the field.
Quite simply, if the team is entertaining them and winning match, most folks
don't give two hoots about the PLC goings on.
Biffa
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