Well well well. For a game that was so dull it certainly it's share of "incidents didn't it?
I'll start with Nigel de Jong. I'm sure you don't need to be told what happened but just in case - very early on the game Nige made a challenge that he had every right to make. It was most unfortunate then that Hatem Ben Arfa would come out of the tackle with a broken leg that may yet see him out for the season. It's awful from a personal point of view and it's a shame for the Premier League. He has looked like a good player so far.
The thing to note from the incident though is that there were no appeals from the Newcastle players at the time for a free-kick. The referee didn’t see a foul. Having since it watched it back on ESPN, neither did Kevin Keegan or Nicky Butt. De Jong went in for a ball he had every right to challenge for. Was there any malice? No. Was it clumsy? Perhaps a little, his right leg certainly follows through but it was not two footed and he did not set out to hurt his opponent.
So to hear Stan Collymore talking of “anti-football” and the likes of Nige “stealing a living” on Talksport afterwards was a little hard to take. I’m sure Nige is horrified that he’s put a fellow pro out for around six months, so for Collymore (whose record is far from unblemished) to play judge, juror and executioner for the whole nation to hear is, in my opinion, bang out of order. I’m sure we’ll hear more of this as the season goes on.
Of the game itself, well - it wasn't great. But there would be another "controversial" incident that would see City take the lead. Boateng clipped a lovely ball over the top of the Newcastle defence that Tevez controlled beautifully. He made a dart for the box but was brought down by Newcastle defender Mike Williamson. The pundits all seem unanimous on this one – it’s not a foul. Well, I beg to differ. Williamson does get a touch on the ball, no question. For some reason though, everybody seems to have ignored the fact that he went through the back of Tevez to get there. You’re not allowed to do that. Honest. Check the rules. As he was the last man, and Tevez most certainly had a “clear goal scoring opportunity”, Williamson should not feel aggrieved by the decision. Rather, he should feel fortunate that he was allowed to finish the game.
After the Geordies had finished arguing with the ref, Tevez stepped up and hammered the ball into the net. 1-0 to City.
It wasn’t to be pretty from that point on. Newcastle had come to play and we were negative again, and possibly suffering a European hangover. The warning signs were there in the 22nd minute when Coloccini volleyed from distance. This time, Hart was his equal, pulling off a world class save to tip the ball wide. That wasn’t to be the case three minutes later.
Gutierrez got the ball outside the box and clipped it in around the six yard box. Kompany got something on it but couldn’t clear, and Gutierrez ran in to rifle a shot into the roof of Hart’s goal. There was no way he was ever going to stop it. 1-1. If we’re to place blame, and I think we should, Kolo fell asleep and failed to follow Gutierrez into the box, giving him a free shot.
There was little to talk about after that until Adam Johnson replaced Gareth Barry. It was clear to everybody in the ground that the game was made for AJ, so it was a relief when he came on. And it was a decision that would be immediately vindicated. In the 74th minute Johnson got the ball on the right. A jinking run into the box made a mockery of the Newcastle defence before firing a shot into the corner of the Newcastle goal. It would be the goal that would seal a 2-1 win. And it would be a goal fit to win any game of football.
Shortly after, Lescott blatantly tripped Ameobi in the City penalty area. Penalty to Newcastle. Or at least it should've been. Somehow, the referee and his assisstant failed to see the foul and no penalty was awarded. City win 2-1.
Are we finally getting “big club” decisions? Well we’ve been on the wrong end of them plenty of times so I for one am not going to complain if we’re benefiting from the odd lapse in decision making from the officials.
Overall then, not a classic, but it is three points. This time last season we could have (and probably would have) dropped points here. That we won today is a sure sign of progression. Still, we need to improve, but a win going into the international break is always welcome. And don’t they always say that winning games when not at your best is the sign of a top team?
The icing on the cake? We’ll spend a full two weeks (at least) sat in second place, above the rags. Superb. I'll be giving my player ratings in another blog shortly.
Ciao,
Richard
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