[lfc-news] Newcastle report - PA

PA Sport, 19 Dec 2004
Liverpool 3 Newcastle 1

Liverpool kept their dreams of a top-four finish alive with a convincing
victory over an increasingly ragged Newcastle.

The Geordies lost Craig Bellamy, injured in the warm-up, and had Lee
Bowyer sent off for a second yellow card with eight minutes left. Titus
Bramble had earlier contributed to their downfall as well with an own
goal just seconds after Newcastle took an early lead through Patrick
Kluivert.

With some of their players linked with another hotel incident in the
morning papers, the day just got worse for their manager Graeme Souness
on his return to a stadium he once graced as a player.

Liverpool clicked into gear after that shock early goal by Kluivert and
were ahead at the break through Neil Mellor's fifth goal of the season.

Liverpool were increasingly dominant in the second half and they topped
off a fine display with a stunning third goal from Milan Baros which
compounded Souness' misery.

His team are stuck in the bottom half of the table seemingly without a
hope of mounting a challenge for a Champions League spot themselves,
something Reds boss Rafael Benitez insists is a genuine target for
Liverpool.

That boast does not seem too outlandish after this display.

Newcastle lost Bellamy in the warm-up with a recurrence of his back
injury, leaving Kluivert to take over up front.

For Liverpool, Spanish midfielder Luis Garcia returned after missing six
games with a hamstring injury.

The loss of Bellamy clearly unsettled Newcastle right from the start,
with Liverpool powering towards them, and the home side should have been
ahead on two minutes when Baros fought his way to the byline and laid on
an easy chance for Luis Garcia six yards out. But the little Spaniard
managed to hammer his effort high into the Kop.

Referee Graham Poll, who took centre stage with his decisions last
weekend at Arsenal, was again at the heart of the action, firstly not
penalising Bramble for sending Baros spinning onto the track and then
seconds later giving a free-kick for a debatable challenge on Kluivert.

But it was still Liverpool taking the initiative, and Steven Gerrard
went close when he cut in from the left and found space for a right-foot
drive from 20 yards which flashed past Shay Given's right-hand post.

Luis Garcia, after being out for so long, was a touch short of the pace
of the game and conceded possession in midfield in the run-up to
Newcastle taking the lead.

Kieron Dyer's pass into space sent Bowyer tearing into the box to neatly
set up Kluivert to fire home from six yards, even if there was a hint of
offside in the build-up.

The response was a 35-yard shot from John Arne Riise that flashed just
wide, and the hosts were level two minutes after Newcastle had gone ahead.

Gerrard swung a corner in from the left and under pressure from Sami
Hyypia, Bramble deflected the ball into his own net.

It got even better for Liverpool three minutes later. Baros turned
Robbie Elliott easily 30 yards out and the Czech then threaded a clever
pass into Mellor, who coolly slotted the ball past Given from 12 yards.

Baros had a goal ruled out for a foul on Given as Liverpool stepped up
the pace. Bowyer and Elliott were both booked as they struggled to
contain Harry Kewell and Xabi Alonso.

But in the 61st minute Liverpool scored a very special goal in which
Kewell gave a rare flash of his capabilities.

Hyypia won possession in his own half and fed the Australian, who fed
the ball into Baros' path with stunning quality. Baros raced away before
rounding Given and placing the ball into an empty net.

Jermaine Jenas missed a great chance to cut the deficit back to one goal
as he skied an effort over the crossbar, before Jerzy Dudek saved
superbly from a Laurent Robert free-kick.

The Reds sent on Antonio Nunez and Florent Sinama-Pongolle, and the
French teenager's first involvement was to be sent crashing to the
ground by Bowyer, who was issued his second yellow card and then the red
by Poll, Newcastle by now totally dispirited.

Liverpool: Dudek, Hyypia, Finnan, Carragher, Riise, Luis Garcia (Nunez
73), Gerrard, Alonso, Kewell (Traore 85), Baros, Mellor (Sinama Pongolle 75)
Subs not used: Harrison, Hamann
Booked: none
Goals: Bramble og 35, Mellor 38, Baros 61

Newcastle: Given, O'Brien, Elliott, Bramble, Bernard, Bowyer, Dyer
(Ambrose 80), Jenas, Milner (N'Zogbia 72), Kluivert (Robert 58), Amoebi
Subs not used: Harper
Booked: Elliott, Bernard, Bowyer
Sent off: Bowyer
Goals: Kluivert 32

Att: 43,856
Referee: G. Poll

SOU CONFIRMS COMPLAINT LETTER
Newcastle boss Graeme Souness has confirmed he has received a letter of
complaint from the Ritz Hotel in London about the behaviour of some of
his players.

The Mayfair hotel was allegedly the venue for a group of Newcastle
players to stage a pre-Christmas party.

Their behaviour resulted in hotel staff writing to the Newcastle club to
complain.

Souness, after his side's 3-1 defeat at Liverpool, said: "I received
that letter, and I am not going to tell anyone what was in it.

"They are boys, it was their day off and I am not going to comment on it
any further."

It is believed the incident in question took place three weeks ago.

Asked whether the behaviour had just been "over boisterous", Souness
agreed, and said: "Good, they are boys."

Souness was angry about the performance of his side at Anfield, saying:
"We have had words, it wasn't a shouting match and was civilised.
Probably a bit too civilised for my liking."

He added: "We made a decent start and took the lead. They cancelled that
out with an own goal and a goal that stemmed from a ball straight down
the middle of our side.

"That happened again in the second half and you do not often see goals
like that scored in the Premiership, straight passes being turned into
goals.

"At 3-1 we had a chance to get back into the game when Jermaine Jenas
missed a good chance, and then came Lee Bowyer's sending-off. I can't
defend that, it was an obvious red card and he let down his team-mates."

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez praised his side's character for the way
they hit back after going a goal down to Newcastle in what was
eventually an impressive victory for the Anfield men.

Patrick Kluivert put Newcastle ahead early on, but a Titus Bramble own
goal, Neil Mellor's fifth strike of the season and a cracker from Milan
Baros secured the points for Liverpool while the Geordies' misery was
compounded by having Bowyer sent off near the end.

Benitez, who saw his side concede an injury-time goal last week to rob
them of victory over Portsmouth, said: "That was a bad blow for us, and
when we went behind early on in this game we needed to show character to
fight back.

"We created chances and produced a fine performance that will be good
for our confidence as we approach a very busy holiday programme.

"I was pleased too with Harry Kewell, he has been playing well for the
last few games now.

"I have continued to show confidence in him and he is now playing much
better for us."

Benitez added: "Right through the game we showed the right mentality.

"We conceded early on, but counter-attacked and took the game to them.

"By the end of the match we were making lots of chances and it could
have been a bigger margin of victory for us even though they were down
to 10 men."


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