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| Newcastle boss Alan Pardew was satisfied with his side's 1-1 draw with Sunderland |
If you had offered Newcastle United fans a point following
Cheick Tiote’s dismissal at Sunderland yesterday, you
can be sure the majority would have taken it.
With in excess of 65 minutes still to play at the Stadium of
Light, the Magpies were winning 1-0 thanks to Yohan Cabaye’s excellent
third-minute finish, but Tiote’s red card left them facing an unenviable task.
It took the Black Cats until four minutes from the end to
finally bundle home an equaliser, and but for some bad luck from a Seb Larsson
free-kick, Newcastle would have held on for a famous victory.
They had repelled the likes of James McClean, Stephane
Sessegnon, Steven Fletcher and Adam Johnson admirably, and while the Sunderland
quartet all disappointed, that was in large part due to excellent Newcastle
defending.
Fabricio Coloccini was a class apart at the back and it is
no coincidence Sunderland’s leveller came when he had
left the pitch.
Credit must also go to Mike Williamson, Davide Santon, Danny
Simpson and James Perch for keeping Sunderland’s
attackers quiet, but it was Coloccini who held it all together.
Yesterday’s game proved Newcastle
are a completely different proposition with the Argentinean defender in their team,
with his composure, skill and doggedness not only keeping Sunderland
at bay, but also calming his team-mates in the process.
Toon manager Alan Pardew remarked after the game that his
captain’s performance “was like watching Bobby Moore”, and that is a compliment
his captain thoroughly merited.
In an encounter where attacking talents were expected to
shine, Coloccini deservedly picked up the man of the match award and showed
just what Newcastle have been missing in recent weeks due to his injury absence.
I have never seen a better defender in a Newcastle
shirt, and Coloccini’s display at the Stadium of Light yesterday was certainly
one of the best defensive performances in the club’s recent history.
Until Tiote’s sending off in the 25th minute, Newcastle
were by far the better side.
For all the pre-match talk of Sunderland
being favourites, it was the visitors who sprinted out of the blocks and
Cabaye’s opener was the least they deserved.
However, the Ivorian then turned the game on its head with
his crazy sending off.
His challenge on Fletcher was dangerous, reckless and
thoroughly deserving of a red card, which was made all the more moronic given
the referee had already blown for a foul in Tiote’s favour before he dived in
on the Scot.
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| Tiote has been walking a disciplinary tightrope for some time |
Many fans have defended Tiote and insist he should not have
been sent off, and one argument they have given is that Sunderland’s
Larsson was not even given a booking for an equally reckless challenge on Shola
Ameobi.
Larsson’s foot was so high it almost took Ameobi’s head off,
and he at least deserved a yellow card, but Tiote could have no real
complaints.
His dismissal also led to Ameobi being sacrificed by Pardew,
which clearly disappointed the front-man.
However, it was a wise decision by the manager to bring the
striker off, as Newcastle could no
longer afford to play two up-front, Demba Ba offered a better goal threat and
Ameobi was on a booking due to his part in the aftermath of Tiote’s dismissal.
Newcastle coped
admirably with their one man disadvantage and were worthy of at least a point.
They will be the team most satisfied by their performance in
the cold light of day, however galling it was to lose their lead with time
running out.
Ba was desperately unlucky after a dogged display up-front
to head Larsson’s free-kick into his own net, but the Magpies managed to hold
on for a point.
Both sides will have been relieved with the draw, but for
very different reasons.
Sunderland will have been delighted
not to lose the game having trailed for so long, while Newcastle
must have feared the worst after Tiote’s red.
In truth, they didn’t come under anywhere near as much
pressure as they might have expected until the last 10 minutes, when their legs
were weary and Sunderland managed to gather some
momentum.
It was a typically ferocious and atmospheric derby, but
unfortunately it is again off-the-field matters which are dominating the
headlines.
A Sunderland fan is being
investigated for allegedly racially abusing Ba, while neither set of supporters
covered themselves in glory.
While a relatively small number of arrests were made, a
section of Sunderland fans chanted the moronic “We wish you were dead” at Toon
defender Steven Taylor in retaliation to his ill-advised pre-match comments,
and some Newcastle supporters chanted equally tasteless songs about Lee
Cattermole and Jimmy Savile.
Neither side can take the moral high ground when it comes to
chanting as both showed extremely poor taste.
It is disappointing that this is even a talking-point but it
seemed inevitable due to the intense build-up this fixture always invites.
For Newcastle,
they will have left Wearside with mixed emotions but the overriding one should
be upbeat as they proved just what a good and resilient side they are.
If they had managed to keep 11 men on the pitch, they would
surely have fancied their chances of taking another three points back to
Tyneside, but they can’t be too devastated by a solitary one.
Newcastle once
again had the better of a derby and their performance should stand them in good
stead. Their season is finally up and running and they should feel much more
positive now with their pride very much intact.
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