Allez Le Toon! – Newcastle Utd vs Southampton

Newcastle’s French revolution proved too strong for a gutsy Southampton on a bitterly cold day in the north-east.

With both sides equal on points just above the relegation zone, there should have been an understandably tense feeling in the air before the game. However, Newcastle’s decision to make the match a ‘French Day’ ensured that a decidedly Gaelic looking St. James’ Park was in a jovial mood before kick off.

Rickie Lambert celebrates his 100th goal for the club. Credit: @southamptonfc

It was fitting then that the first goal of the match came from a Frenchman – ironically however, it came from the only non-Newcastle French player on the pitch. Morgan Schneiderlin’s neat swivel and shot past Magpies debutant ‘keeper Rob Elliot ensured that the mood inside the stadium was far from magnifique. It took Newcastle another ten minutes to find their rhythm, with a mishit from Papiss Cisse and a Moussa Sissoko drive being Newcastle’s best efforts of the opening half-hour. However it wasn’t long before Newcastle made their superiority count. From the left wing Yoann Gouffran cut inside and although his initial shot was saved by Artur Boruc, Sissoko was able to convert the rebound at the far post.

Sissoko’s goal brought little response from Southampton as Newcastle continued to dominate possession with the clock counting down to half-time. Just as it looked as though the teams would head into the break level, Rob Elliot sent a long kick downfield which found its way to Papiss Cisse. The forward took the ball on the volley and lashed an unstoppable shot into the back of the net from twenty five yards out.

After the break, Southampton came out with a lot more purpose, and had it not been for a good save from Rickie Lambert’s free-kick, they would have been level. They did not have to wait long to have another crack at goal however. Good work from Adam Lallana on the right flank led to an inch perfect ball being played to Rickie Lambert who needed little encouragement to put away his 100^th goal for the club. Despite chances being few and far between after the equaliser, it was Southampton who were on top, with Newcastle failing to find their feet at the start of the second half. Despite this, the home side retook the lead in the 66^th minute when Mathieu Debuchy’s attempted cross hit the outstretched arm of Danny Fox, giving referee Chris Foy no choice but to award a penalty. Yohan Cabaye, another of Newcastle’s French imports, sent Artur Boruc the wrong way from the spot and put Newcastle ahead for the second time that afternoon.

The away side may have felt hard done by in being behind and this perhaps showed as Newcastle were given an increasing amount of time and space on the ball as the game moved into its latter stages. The result was all but confirmed in the 79^th minute, when Fox’s attempted clearance of Davide Santon’s cross from the left ended up ricocheting off the hapless Jos Hooiveld and into the net. Despite Gaston Ramirez spurning a good chance late on and having a penalty claim turned down, Newcastle coasted to the finish line and collected an ultimately well deserved three points.

Writer’s Comment:  Southampton put on a battling display here and can consider themselves unlucky on a number of occasions. Despite this, it would be fair to say that they came up against a resurgent Newcastle United team who knew their game plan and executed it effectively, leaving the Saints’ high pressure strategy in tatters at times. The result leaves Southampton just three points off the relegation zone, however, out of the bottom five, they are easily the best equipped to avoid relegation.

Man Of The Match: Moussa Sissoko – The powerful midfielder keeps on impressing for Newcastle and his energy, pace and skill were a constant headache for the Southampton defence.