Newcastle United 2 Leeds United 0: Clinical Magpies fly off with cup spoils
YEP 25/9/13by Phil Hay
Whatever their motivation – natural pride or financial incentives – Leeds United have found no end of solace in knockout football.
But not last night. A place in the League Cup’s fourth round went instead to Newcastle United, and with it the Wonga.com.
United’s manager, Brian McDermott, fancied both at St James’ Park but he consoled himself with a flattering comparison drawn between his team and a Newcastle side who forced the issue with precision football befitting of the Premier League.
Two bullet finishes were the death of Leeds on Tyneside.
It has happened before to United at this stage, most notably against Liverpool in 2009 when a deadly moment dampened so much promise, but McDermott found little to moan about either side of Newcastle’s coup de graces.
His team played with enough swagger and ambition to allow him to sleep well ahead of a visit to Millwall on Saturday, a game he could do with winning.
Yet again, as he did after the Capital One Cup’s second round, he has players putting their hands up to start that match. At least one of them, Alex Mowatt, might well deserve to.
Papiss Cisse and Yoan Gouffran gave Newcastle safe passage yesterday, the former rising to score a 32nd-minute header after a textbook cross from Sammy Ameobi, the latter dispatching an exocet midway through the second half.
In hypercritical mode, McDermott will ask where Sam Byram was for the first goal and why neither Scott Wootton nor Jason Pearce picked up Cisse as he loped between them 10 yards out.
But Gouffran’s goal was a hold-your-hands up moment and Newcastle took both of theirs with the ruthless streak so often lacking in the Championship.
McDermott was also left to wonder what would have happened had a brilliant chip from Ross McCormack dipped under the crossbar instead of hitting it in the opening minutes of the tie but the evening as a whole did no harm to the confidence of a club laid low by three defeats from four league games.
All you wonder is where the goals will come from.
Alan Pardew, Newcastle’s contracted-to-the-hilt coach, dismissed United’s recent results before kick-off, saying McDermott would do a “super job for Leeds.”
It is a mark of football’s fragile patience that a spate of poor form has prompted utterings of support for McDermott from those who know him and some who don’t. “He’s developed a fantastic managerial record,” Pardew said.
McDermott spoke this week of “sticking to my philosophy” regardless of public opinion or the Championship table and his selection of Mowatt at St James’ Park was pointed evidence of that.
The 18-year-old – sublime on his debut at Doncaster Rovers in the previous round – took to the field again in more daunting surroundings and much deeper water, a brave decision on McDermott’s part.
Newcastle were weakened without being weak, changed in six positions after losing to Hull City on Saturday. Pardew too was taking a risk.
They yearn for trophies in Newcastle and, despite countless years in the Premier League, have been starved of them for far longer than Leeds.
They are in with a shout of the Capital One Cup still after last night’s narrow win.
McDermott’s priority above all others was to avoid an early concession but when hostilities commenced, Leeds were unlucky not to be ahead by the fifth minute.
The outstanding McCormack led the attack by spinning out of midfield with a quick change of feet and advanced towards Newcastle’s box before chipping Tim Krul.
Krul barely anticipated the ball coming and clawed at the air while it looped over his head and shook the bar.
There was no goal but a statement of intent nonetheless.
Newcastle heeded it and proceeded cautiously.
Cisse, who was crowded out by Scott Wootton during a moment of danger in the first few minutes, wasted two chances to settle St James’ Park by twice mis-hitting volleys in front of Paddy Kenny, and Fabricio Coloccini’s header found Matt Smith waiting to clear it on the line. It felt like anyone’s tie with a quarter of an hour gone.
There was also a sense of occasion with chants and applause for the late Gary Speed encouraged and maintained by the supporters of two clubs who remember him well. As is tradition, United’s following of 6,000 prolonged their tribute for fully 11 minutes. McDermott had promised to dedicate a victory to him and had reason to feel quietly confident as the first half panned out. Much as Newcastle saw plenty of the ball, United had the measure of their movement and attacks.
Mowatt’s return to the fold was seamless and easy, begging the question of whether McDermott should set him loose at Millwall this weekend. His passing and pressing kept Newcastle pinned down and his volley on 20 minutes struck Cisse’s midriff before it could fly at Krul. Consummate was the word, as it had been at Doncaster.
There were anxious moments too as McDermott expected there would be, and Gouffran glanced a diving head wide after Ameobi stepped between two markers and curled the ball into the box. Cheick Tiote then struck the legs of Cisse after running around Mowatt and into an unprotected box. Pardew scribbled notes on a pad as play continued, evidently finding plenty to think about.
Coloccini made him and Newcastle wobble around the half-hour when his scuffed clearance hit Smith and drew a lively parry from Krul but from very little Cisse changed the balance of the game. Given a sudden chance to attack, Ameobi found Leeds painfully short of numbers down the left wing and teed up his team-mate with a dream of a cross which Cisse headed home on the run.
McDermott gathered his players at the interval and told them to neither cease nor desist. Krul held Smith’s header at the start of the second half as the striker made room for himself beneath a high cross and Smith began to stretch Newcastle at regular intervals.
Referee Mick Jones said no penalty when he went down under the weight of Paul Dummett’s body but for the second time, momentum fell foul of Newcastle’s finishing. Gouffran had no space to work with when the ball ran to him on the edge of the box on 67 minutes but he rolled Jason Pearce and hacked a shot across Kenny and into the far corner of the net. Game over, bar a tiring run-in and the shouting from one end of the ground which persisted beyond the final whistle.