Magpies eye safety as Boro look set for a fall

IT was billed as the biggest North-East derby for more than a decade, and for a jubilant Newcastle United, it turned out to be the best. For a dejected Middlesbrough, though, the repercussions of last night’s Tyneside tear-up could be seismic.

In a season of countless ups and downs, the point at which Peter Lovenkrands secured a priceless victory for the Magpies could prove the moment at which the fate of two of the region’s biggest sides was sealed.

Lovenkrands’ 86th-minute strike, which followed earlier goals from Steven Taylor and Obafemi Martins, lifted Newcastle out of the bottom three for the first time since early March.

After five false dawns under Alan Shearer, the Magpies have finally recorded a victory and, just as significantly, rediscovered some verve and confidence ahead of the final two games of the season.

They cannot make themselves mathematically safe at the weekend, but if they beat Fulham and Hull lose to Bolton, their goal difference will all but guarantee their continued participation in the top-flight.

Middlesbrough, on the other hand, are staring into the abyss. Three points adrift of safety with two games to play, the Teessiders ended the game appearing both down and out.

They led through a Habib Beye own goal as early as the third minute, but crumbled under the weight of incessant Newcastle pressure after the interval.

It is not too late for them to save themselves, but if they lose to Aston Villa on Saturday, and both Newcastle and Hull claim at least a point, they will be playing Championship football next season.

Watching the way their players trudged dejectedly from the field y e s t e r d a y evening, it is hard to envisage t h e m t u r n i n g t h e m things around.

Their fate looks sealed, even though they could not have wished for a better start to last night’s encounter. As has been the case with Boro so often this season, though, they failed to last the pace.

With a febrile pre-match atmosphere having raised the temperature to fever pitch, the opening ten minutes were always likely to be crucial. As it turned out, they were also chaotic.

Only 150 seconds had passed when Boro broke the deadlock, and by t h e n M i c h a e l Owen had a l - ready wasted two decent openings because of poor control.

From Boro’s point of view, the opener was well worked.

From Newcastle’s perspective, its comical nature merely epitomised all that had preceded it this campaign.

Tuncay Sanli displayed immaculate close control to gather Afonso Alves’ through ball, only for Steve Harper to race off his line and block the Turk’s stabbed shot with his legs.

That appeared to be that, but as the ball broke free, a backtracking Beye was unable to stay out of its path.

With a look of horror on his face, the Senegalese full-back could only watch as it rolled apologetically into the net.

Trailing at such an early stage, it would have been easy for Newcastle’s players to have retreated into their shell, as has been the case on countless occasions this term. Instead, they f i n a l l y s u m m o n e d the resolve required to produce a rousing reaction.

Mark Viduka, impressive all evening against his former employers, came within inches of an immediate equaliser, hammering an instinctive half-volley against the post after Kevin Nolan’s long throw.

Steven Taylor slashed the rebound over the crossbar, but the returning centre-back made amends three minutes later when he scored Newcastle’s first St James’ Park goal under Shearer.

Danny Guthrie swung over a corner from the left, and Taylor stole ahead of a phalanx of Boro defenders to arrow a powerful header past Brad Jones.

The helter-skelter o p e n - i n g reflected both the importance of the occasion and the weakness of the defences on display, and while the game eventually settled into a less haphazard pattern, it remained on a knife-edge all night.

Newcastle dominated possession – Owen glanced a decent first-half header goalwards, only for Jones to produce a fine fingertip save – but if anything, Boro appeared more dangerous whenever they broke from the deep.

Gareth Southgate has been a risk-averse manager for the majority of the c a m - p a i g n , but on h i s biggest night as a manager, the Boro boss sprang a huge surprise when he handed Marvin Emnes his first league start for the Teessiders.

Emnes’ pace caused problems to the Newcastle defence throughout but, crucially, his finishing did not match his industry.

Presented with a glorious opportunity on the edge of the area on the half-hour mark, the Dutchman drilled a low shot against Harper’s legs.

The rebound offered him an even better opportunity, but after steadying himself, he side-footed into the side-netting. Even at that stage, it felt like a costly miss.

Emnes found himself with a new strike partner when the previously anonymous Afonso Alves was stretchered from the field following an innocuouslooking fall, but while Marlon King had terrorised Newcastle in September while a Hull player, he struggled to produce a similar effect in a Boro shirt.

He flickered into life sporadically, and his 57th-minute knockdown caused havoc in the Newcastle box. Stewart Downing failed to gather the loose ball, but when Gary O’Neil fired in a vicious strike from the edge of the area, Harper was forced into a fine parry.

That was to be Boro’s final hurrah.

Shearer replaced Owen with Martins in the 70th minute and, little more than 60 seconds later, the Nigerian was firing the Magpies into the lead.

Martins has been pilloried for missing chances in recent weeks, but when a £60m opportunity came his way in the 71st minute, he was not found wanting.

Viduka won a header in the area, Nolan, who appeared to be in an offside position, flicked the ball on, and Martins slid a tumbling finish into the bottom left-hand corner.

Jeremie Aliadiere and Emnes both missed difficult opportunities for an equaliser, but Lovenkrands confirmed Newcastle’s victory with four minutes left.

Kevin Nolan crossed from the right, and Lovenkrands stole in from the back post to hammer a close-range finish past Jones. For the hosts it meant jubilation. For the visitors, though, it could well have marked the end of a Premier League era.