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Match Reports

Hull vs Newcastle Match Report

10 years ago
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Hull vs Newcastle Match Report

Hull 1 Newcastle United 4  Saturday 1 March 3pm

A match that had a little bit of everything and rather too much of one thing.

The build-up to the trip to Humberside was going nicely in terms of availability of players, only for Friday seeing news of Coloccini heading back to Argentina due to a family bereavement.

It appeared the toss of a coin between Taylor and Mapou as to who partnered Williamson, the Frenchman won that call but I don’t think anybody then felt we were capable of keeping a clean sheet without our captain.

Alan Pardew did his normal pre-match build-up of the opposition, pointing out only four home league defeats and ten goals conceded. At that point a point wasn’t looking a bad result.

Of course it ended up as three points and four goals, although those bare facts suggest a dominance that wasn’t really there.

This was summed up by the opening goal; Tim Krul making a superb double save and then launching a quick counter-attack. A number of players involved before Debuchy played it across from the right for Sissoko to finish in style with ten minutes on the clock.

This was a day when Newcastle played well for much of the match but at the same time a better team might have punished moments of weakness at the back. Two far post crosses left unmarked Hull attackers who missed the target both times, while a free-kick struck the bar with Krul beaten.

However, three minutes before half-time nerves were settled. A shocker of a back pass by Hull’s Figueroa left keeper McGregor in no man’s land and Remy easily slipped the ball around the home keeper well outside his eighteen yard box, which meant we had the rare luxury of enjoying several seconds of anticipation before the striker eventually elected to knock it into the unguarded net.

Surely a killer goal just before the break…

Only a minute into the second period and a bog standard free-kick put in from wide left, but Tim Krul has a rush of blood to the head, the United keeper flapping for the ball and Davies heading into an empty net.

The next goal was crucial and it went the right way with 55 minutes gone. A decisive break saw United get men forward and when Gouffran’s shot was beaten away, Sissko picked up an easy finish by gambling and getting into the box. More of this please.

United even had the final say when a Gosling run ended with a Dummett shot which Vurnon Anita also benefited from by showing ambition and getting into the box to pounce at the back post when McGregor failed to deal with the initial shot by the full-back.

All of the above though is sadly lost as the Alan Pardew ‘headbutt’ incident dominates.

Standing in the away end, we simply saw the ball go out of play next to the dugouts and at 3-1 down, David Meyler went to chase the ball down and get it back into play. From our viewpoint we saw Meyler bizarrely push the Newcastle manager before then there was a coming together between the Hull player and Pardew, only for Meyler to push him again. There was much confusion when Pardew was then sent to the stands, as Meyler only received a yellow.

The Pardew punishment becomes explanatory when seeing TV replays later but I still can’t work out how ex-mackem Meyler avoided a red.

The Newcastle manager didn’t make proper contact but his stupidity was there for the whole world to see. His ‘apology’ in post-match interviews didn’t appear to convince anybody and it is embarrassing having your manager dragged down to the level of somebody like David Meyler.

Much rubbish was said after the match but Pardew simply has to grin and bear it because he has created the situation.

An interesting situation developing if Pardew ends up managing his team at arm’s length and Mike Ashley loses his sole spokesman.

Newcastle: Krul, Debuchy, Mapou, Williamson, Dummett, Anita, Sissoko, Gouffran, Tiote, De Jong (Gosling 89), Remy

Unused Subs: Alnwick, Steven Taylor, Haidara, Shola, Marveaux, Cisse

Ref: Kevin Friend

Crowd: 24,903 (2,500 Newcastle)

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