Hab a bit of that!
Habib Beye was Newcastle UnitedâÂÂs hero today against Birmingham after the Senegal ace headed home a late, late winner at Gallowgate to grab Sam AllardyceâÂÂs first three points since October 22.
Newcastle had fallen behind to a Cameron Jerome goal before Oba Martins levelled and Beye netted his first for the club.
United started the game with the same side that had drew with Arsenal but the clash with Brum began amidst a sleet storm with fans forced to battle through winter conditions to get the stadium.
However, Toon players had their own battle on their hands on nine minutes when Rafael Schmitz's long ball from the left was latched on to by Cameron Jerome.
The in form Birmingham striker left Steven Taylor and David Rozehnal for dead before rounding Shay Given to slot into the empty net for 1-0 with a cool finish.
United struggled to get into the game after the opener but on 18 minutes Charles
NâÂÂZogbia managed to get a shot in from the left, however, a poor finish proved to be no trouble for City keeper Maik Taylor as the visitors held on to their lead.
But although Newcastle enjoyed the better of the possession they could not turn their dominance into goals in the first quarter.
Yet they did come extremely close on 28 minutes when an NâÂÂZogbia cross from the right found top scorer Martins who forced Maik Taylor to clutch on to the ball for dear life with a chance right in front of goal.
A minute later and James MilnerâÂÂs dazzling run caused havoc on the left and his shot across the face of goal went the wrong side of the post with Martins unable to connect as the ball squirted wide.
On 32 minutes Newcastle were forced to take off Nicky Butt and replace him with Mark Viduka after the ex-City man was forced off with illness after suffering stomach cramps during the week.
The enforced change resulted in United switching to a 4-2-4 formation with Viduka alongside Smith and Milner and Martins out wide.
This put Birmingham under more pressure and with 10 minutes to go before the break a foul from Sadler handed United a penalty after a foul on Martins.
Martins stepped up and although Maik Taylor went the right way he could only help it on to the post before it rolled along the line and into the opposite corner of the net.
With 41 minutes on the clock another NâÂÂZogbia ball from the right saw Milner force a reflex save out of Maik Taylor from close range and from theh resultant corner it eventually came back to the Yorkshire man but his effort from outside the box rattled against the bar.
Milner started the second half in the same fashion heâÂÂd finished the first and after a great run down the right he fired one just wide of the post.
In a scrappy second period United worked hard but couldnâÂÂt break through as the game drifted into the final quarter.
A good move between Viduka, Smith and Barton forced a corner on 70 minutes but GeremiâÂÂs flag kick found nobody and during a frantic spell Birmingham cleared the danger.
Big Sam then tried something different with 18 minutes left when he introduced Emre for skipper Geremi.
Barton was lucky to stay on after a late challenge on Jerome with 12 minutes to go as the Brum star raced down the left hand side.
With six minutes left United could have snatched it when Martins outpaced Stephen Kelly and Maik Taylor had to palm his effort round the post with time running out.
With two minutes remaining Larsson fouled NâÂÂZogbia on the edge of the box to hand United a great chance.
But EmreâÂÂs set piece went straight into the wall.
Yet they wouldnâÂÂt have to wait long for a late winner as NâÂÂZogbia found Emre at the front post who crashed home the winner on 90 minutes.
UNITED: Given, Beye, NâÂÂZogbia, Rozehnal, S Taylor, Geremi (Emre 72), Butt (Viduka 32), Barton, Milner, Smith, Martins (Enrique 90).
Subs: Harper, Edgar.
BIRMINGHAM: M Taylor, Kelly, Sadler, Schmitz, Ridgewell, Larsson, Jerome, McSheffrey (Kapo 62), Nafti, De Ridder (Forssell 76), Muamba,
Subs: Doyle, OâÂÂConnor, Forssell, Parnaby.
Crowd: 49,498
Ref: Rob Styles
Older/Newer
11 Comments
Leave a comment
Profile
Lee Ryder - Proudly born and bred on Tyneside, the Chronicle's chief sports writer has followed the fortunes of the club over the last three decades as a Toon fan and football writer.
Latest Premier League video
Email alerts
In association with
Follow my RSS feed
Follow me on
Some people are never happy.
Yeah- And IâÂÂm one of âÂÂem!
I donâÂÂt mean to put a dampener on things lads, as I'm pleased we've put more breathing space between us and teams below us, but here at Patterson TowerâÂÂs things just seem to look decisively - flukey.
Things started off miss-shaped, as usual, and it was only when Butt retired to his sick bed and NâÂÂZogbia was thrust forward, that we got the side sorted out and a bit of impetus was injected into our play, once again with the Frenchman starting at left back and Milner starting in a forward three.
NâÂÂZogbia was at fault for the goal against the Arsenal and one of the three against Blackburn, so it came as no surprise that we again conceded early doorâÂÂs with a less than assured back line in place- Will Allardyce ever learn??
The Captain at present seems as lucky as the man who took charge aboard the Titanic and about as effective to prevent an iceberg shattering the dreams of the thousands aboard ship.
The same happened in this game that happened in the Wigan game- we âÂÂnicked itâ late on, which will keep Allardyce happy, but sadly not me.
Like I said, the way to sum things up is flukey and I feel we are winning games by the fact that we have such quality in our side and not actually on tactical merit from the dug-out.
I know you may shoot me down chaps, but this is as dejected as IâÂÂve EVER felt after a WIN, but feel things are still just careering blindly towards a cliff edge, the only thing stopping us from a high fall, is the fact that we have a strong barrier in front of us, in the shape of the teams below us not having the same quality players we have and the fact that we seem to have mastered the power of fluke.
Paul.
I'm pleased with the win but thought we were worryingly bad for long periods. Butt was very poor and I don't like Geremi being picked so often. Their goal was dreadful defending too.
When are you going take notice Sam! that it just doesn't work playing two out and out wingers on the same side of the pitch?
Lets keep it simple and you might keep your job!! Sorry folks but I believe in the old fashion way of attacking football and that's get the ball out to a good winger playing in their right position and perhaps the rest of the team might start playing a better game.And it beats the life out of me why Emre is on the bench when it was obvious the game turned the minute he got his first touch of the ball today he was the play maker from then on, Lets hope he gets his day next week he deserves it, Anyway we ground out the result that matters but we've still got a long haul ahead of us if we are to look like a team that's fit to play in Europe!! So until next time, HA WAY THE LADS.....
I should think Birmingham have gone home wondering how they didn't get at least a point as for long periods of the game they were the better team.Thank god for the energy and skill of Milner and N'Zogbia even though the latter is played out of position.
Barton was very poor once again and how Emre is not starting a game in place of Barton only Sam knows.
The upshot of it all is Sam cannot survive in the long term.He's just not good enough-it is as simple as that.He may make it to the end of the season but I think that will be his limit.
I truly believe the only reason Allardyce has not been sacked is purely one of finance.Ashley does not want to pay up his contract-yet.I feel Ashley thinks he has invested enough and the thought of paying millions to Allardyce, irrespective of the necessity, does not enter his head.
Ashley and Mort are hoping and praying for a miracle-that Allardyce gets the England job then the FA will be paying compensation to us-Some hope of that happening!!!
What a great site to see Habib Beye immediately before his goal, urging the crowd to cheer, and then scoring with a brave header, when others looked tired. The spirit that Habib showed has inspired me to write this poem:
There is one Town in this great land
Where people take a United stand
And ye who wears that shirt with pride
Will carry the hope of all Tyneside
Every lad and lass will fight
For those who wear the Black and White
"Howay the lads!" and give your all
Play with heart and stand up tall
For, what we need is brave men here
And those who are, we'll love you dear.
It was good to get a win but lets not make a mountain out of a mole hill. Its Birmingham City for christ's sake! BS should take note that David Rozehnal is not primiership standard, being told what to do by Steven Taylor is not what you'd expect from a seasoned international.
Interesting! Maybe your blog contributors are a dour lot Lee, or maybe you attract the moaners, but I like to think you have an astute an infomed readership!
I am in complete agreement with Peter and Paul; a flukey win based on determination and individual skill from the players and not a lot of credit to the manager and his coaching team.
To be in a position where we are talking about keeping a gap between us and the bottom half of the table is very poor. We should be much more worried about the gap growing above us!
The reality is we are continued to be outplayed and outwitted by teams that, with the greatest respect, should be in a different league to us! Arsenal was a great performance for us, but frankly, Allardyce (at Bolton) and few other managers have identified Arsenal's Achilles heel and have sussed how to hustle and disrupt the Arsenal game.
Zog's confidence will continue to drain as he is forced to play in a position he is not gifted for and will continue to make the errors a natural left back would not make. And I have lost count of the number of times Milner has to manoeuvre himself to get his right foot around the ball. Obafemi on the wing with Smith up the middle? Again, not utilizing a playerâÂÂs strengths! And Emre on the bench in a home game? Ho ho ho as the big man would say.
Maybe Allardyce should explain his thinking to us and have an intelligent discussion with us about his tactics and treat us with some respect, rather than the 'I have my way of doing things and it has worked in the past and why don't you get off my back' approach he continues to adopt.
I am still hoping Ashley and Mort will do the necessary and that feelers are already out for our next manager.
Task of Capt Geremi
1- Receive pass and pass to someone behind me and HOPE tht player do something
2- Receive pass and hit a long ball up aimlessly and again HOPE tht something will happen.
3- Take throw in n corner kicks
Hahah Even a DECENT 16yr old can be our Captain then
-Get Geremi out n Emre in!
-Smith/Viduka with Martins up
(if need to sub, take smith out not martins)
- Enrique for Butt on left back n Zog n milner on left n right reapectively.
Only untill 90th did BSA almost get it right :(
Milner right footed many times he has to cut in n cross resulting in poor delivery.
When Zog cross from left its good coz he's left footed.
Can we get all our comments mail to BSA or Ashley.
Come Back Kev
Farez
Singapore No1 Toon Fan
Although there's still time for players to prove themselves, if I was selecting the starting line up, I'd begin by pencilling in these names:
Given
Beye Faye Taylor Enrique
Milner Butt ? Nzogbia
Smith Martins
I think it's possible Rozehnal could make a holding midfielder - he has qualities. If Enrique is not ready yet, then target a left back in the transfer market. Raise money by selling Owen, as Martins is MUCH better! He works harder than Owen. A top class creative midfielder is needed to partner Butt. Emre has qualities, but he can lose the ball a lot, and doesn't physically impose himself.
Thanks for your poem 'Cheeruplads',it brought a tear to my eye! As i watched this match from the comfort of my loungeroom here in Oz,i still got anxious every time Newcastle's defenders had to deal with even the most simple of situations.This has been a problem for yonks & none of our recent managers seem to be able fix it.But a win is a win is a win,however as Lee has suggested the Toon played better against Arsenal for a draw & Fulham are no sure thing but Habib Beye is starting to look good value.Sadly as an Australian it pains me to say this but the V-Bomber is looking very much out of sorts.Howay the lads!!
With the African Cup, only weeks away, perhaps Sam will live with what he,s got.4 players will go for certain and at least 6 will be unfit for selection; that leaves a dilema for the management to solve. A number of our highly paid, non events need to stand up and be recognised. Is Ameobi a footballer or an excuse, to make the numbers up; we will be very short up front and Alan Smith, will prove a very astute purchase, by his willingness to work for 90 minutes; if only his lazy counterparts would take note of his industry; Milner excepted.