So did Liverpool deserve to win that? Yes. But then, so did Newcastle. It was just one of those games. Such entertainment, a tale told at a million miles an hour from the get-go. On this evidence, either team would be a worthy champion ... though knocking Manchester United off their perch may now be easier said than done. This amazing title race, however it pans out, is certain to stay with us for a mighty long time. Whatever happens next, we’re sure to love it. Love it. Thanks so much for reading this MBM! Nighty night!
Here’s poor old Kevin Keegan, desperately trying to put a brave face on it. “Disappointed, but we lost nothing in defeat here today. Whatever they charge here, I don’t think people will be sending their tickets back saying they want a refund! A lot of energy and some great goals in a terrific atmosphere at a great stadium. It was a classic. It would have been much nicer to stand here talking about a 4-3 win, and it could so easily have been that result.”
A word with victorious boss Roy Evans, who is dazed rather than ecstatic, having been put through the emotional mill. “It’s kamikaze football really. Great for the fans, but it could have killed me and Kevin off. It was great that both teams were so desperate for the win to stay in the championship race. It was great enjoyment for the fans, which is always important, and they were brilliant tonight. We’ve gone behind, we’ve gone ahead, they’ve lost it late on. It’s mad, isn’t it?”
Do the stats tell a story? Do they ever, really? But here they are anyway. Liverpool had the bulk of the possession, with 63% of the ball. They had 29 attempts on goal to Newcastle’s 12; nine were on target compared to Newcastle’s seven. Their passing accuracy was 85% compared to Newcastle’s 74%. Liverpool won 12 corners to Newcastle’s three. Newcastle made 16 fouls to Liverpool’s 12. They picked up all three yellow cards shown tonight, and David Batty should probably have seen red, but let’s not add insult to injury. Yet despite it all, Newcastle could quite easily have won as well. Go figure.
Liverpool’s victory keeps them on the fringes of the title race, five points behind leaders Manchester United in third. However that’s four defeats in six matches for Newcastle, who remain three points behind Alex Ferguson’s men but now with only one game in hand and an inferior goal difference. Whisper it around Anfield, but this has been a great night for Manchester United as well.
FULL TIME: Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle United
The referee blows his whistle and the roof comes off Anfield! Keegan sportingly embraces Evans on the touchline before fleeing sadly down the tunnel. On the field, Collymore stretches his arms to the sky before catching James and then dropping him, Adams-Morrow style, thankfully without similar consequences. You’ll Never Walk Alone rings around the famous old stadium. You’ll never see another match quite as wild and wonderful.
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90 min +3: What a finish by Collymore. What an assist by Barnes. What contributions from Rush and Scales. Stanley Collymore’s name is pinging off the rafters of the Kop. Caught up in the moment, Collymore tries to make it five soon after the restart but, latching onto a Fowler pass rolled wide left, he takes a comical fresh-air swipe! How Newcastle wish he did that 60 seconds ago. Watson launches a hail Mary. Asprilla chases after it, but he’s adjudged to have bundled Ruddock to the ground from behind, and that’s surely that.
90 min +2 still: As Collymore arcs off on a delirious sprint, Keegan slumps behind, and partially over, the advertising hoardings, head hung low, almost scraping the ground. Total devastation for Newcastle’s manager, though Carlsberg are getting good bang for their buck, because that’s going to be an image for the ages, especially if the Toon don’t win the title. Keegan eventually lifts his head up and flashes a rueful glance at his right-hand man Terry McDermott, who shakes his head sadly. The two Liverpool legends have had plenty to celebrate at Anfield over the years. Not tonight. This is going to hurt.
GOAL!!! Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle United (Collymore 90+2)
Barnes flicks left to Rush, who flicks back to Barnes. Then another one-two, as the pair reach the edge of the area. Rush has four men around him as he completes the second exchange. Rush runs across Barnes and offers himself on the right. But Barnes – now surrounded by five Newcastle players – sorts his feet out, takes a crucial split second to think, opens his body and rolls an unexpected pass to the left, where Collymore is closing in! Collymore takes one touch with his right, then lashes into the bottom left from ten yards, Srnicek with no chance whatsoever!
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90 min +2: Ruddock finds Barnes to his left. Barnes sends the ball to Scales, out on the right. Scales drops a shoulder to leave Ferdinand behind and strides into space down the inside-right channel. He rolls forward and inside to Rush, who has his back to goal with Peacock behind him. Rush knocks a first-time lay off back to Barnes, who exchanges a crisp one-two with Scales to his right. Some momentum gathering. Suddenly Barnes and Rush are racing down the middle together, towards the Newcastle box!
90 min +1 again: Watson bashes long, Asprilla gives chase. Redknapp nips in to powerfully head back to James. Hearts in Liverpool mouths there, because anything other than a firm connection would have sent Asprilla away, one on one. James rolls the ball out to Ruddock, deep on the right. And then ...
90 min +1: McManaman dances down the right and wins a corner off Batty. Redknapp takes. Albert clears. McAteer bustles back down the right and nearly shins the ball out for a goal kick, but somehow manages to hook it into the mixer, just in time. Srnicek can’t catch, but does well to shovel the ball away from Fowler, rushing in at the near post.
90 min: But Liverpool come straight back at Newcastle again, Barnes dictating play from deep, slipping a ball down the middle for Ruddock, who clips towards Redknapp, coming in from the left. Redknapp takes a touch to make space just outside the box, and for a split second he can see the white of Srnicek’s eyes. It’s a great chance, just to the left of the D, but he whistles his shot straight at the keeper, who parries. A foot either side, and that could have been it!
89 min: Collymore backs himself in a footrace with Beardsley and wins a corner on the left. Redknapp takes. Ferdinand hooks clear.
88 min: Asprilla taps the free kick right for Ferdinand, who creams a rising shot towards the top right. It would have beaten James all ends up had it been on target, but the ball nicked off Fowler, closing down, and flew high and wide. Newcastle don’t get the corner they’re owed.
87 min again: This match has long been locked into a basketball rhythm, but now things are getting truly ridiculous. Newcastle go straight up the other end, Beresford rolling down the inside-left channel for Asprilla, who looks to spin into the box but is unceremoniously scythed by Ruddock, inches outside the area. A free kick in a very dangerous position, just to the left of the goal.
87 min: Ginola’s delivery isn’t up to standard. It’s hit deep, and Harkness heads clear. Rush flicks to McManaman, who swans away on the counter at great speed! He slips wide to McAteer, but the resulting cross is too close to Srnicek, who gathers. There were five red shirts to aim for there. Just about anywhere else, and Liverpool were snatching a late winner!
86 min again: Scales barges into the back of Asprilla, out on the Newcastle left. A free kick and a chance for the visitors to load the box.
86 min: Jones makes way for Rush. Collymore will move to the left wing, Liverpool’s all-time record goalscorer taking his rightful place in the centre.
85 min: Ruddock’s back on. Anfield’s been a wild scene all evening, but everyone’s just that little bit quieter right now. And a lot more nervous. All four corners, both sets of fans, everyone on the benches, every last player. No exceptions. So much on the line. The tension is palpable.
84 min: A brief pause - the first of the night, pretty much - as Ruddock goes over his ankle upon challenging Ferdinand for a high ball.
83 min: Collymore romps down the inside right, nearly getting the better of Albert. He enters the box and manages to fire a shot across goal from an exceptionally ambitious angle, Albert recovering well by driving him as far wide as he could.
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82 min: Fowler dribbles down the inside left, reaches the box, and shoots. His effort pings off a backpedalling Howey. Before the set piece can be taken, Howey is replaced by Peacock, one centre back for another. Howey has tweaked his hamstring. Peacock is immediately in the thick of the action, barging Ruddock as the corner comes in. Only the Kop claim anything sinister has occurred.
81 min: McManaman and Redknapp combine well down the right, the latter crossing in the hope of finding Fowler. But the ball flies behind the striker and Newcastle can clear.
80 min: Barnes channels his 1987 QPR-baiting self by suddenly turning on the jets and gliding down the inside-right channel, dragging the ball past Lee and into the area. He lashes a shot towards the top left, but Srnicek sticks out a strong arm. Another fine save!
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79 min: What a missed opportunity this is! Albert launches long. It’s Ferdinand versus Harkness! Yes, as easy as that. Ferdinand spins the substitute defender with the greatest of ease on the edge of the box, takes a couple of touches to the left to take the defender out of the equation, and he’s one on one with James! With the match there for the taking, Ferdinand shoots straight at James, who made himself big, closed the angle, and sprawled bravely at his feet ... but despite all that should never have been allowed to make the save. That could be a huge miss in the context of the title race!
78 min: McManaman probes down the right. He’s surrounded, and going nowhere, and plays a not particularly good ball down the channel, straight at Albert. But instead of intercepting and clearing, Albert allows the ball to clank off his boot, sending it towards a gap into which McManaman is only too happy to sprint. He’s clear in the box, albeit coming in at a tight angle. He could try to curl one past the out-rushing Srnicek, but decides to pull back for Fowler instead. Watson slices in to clear.
77 min: The corner is a complete non-event. Newcastle break upfield, Ginola looking for Albert, of all people, down the left. James comes out quickly to intercept and send play back up the other end. Fowler teases Beresford down the right and wins another corner for Liverpool, their ninth of the evening. This one’s a waste of time as well ... and from it, Asprilla diddles Harkness out on the Newcastle right touchline with some astonishing ball-glued-to-boot intricacy, tiptoeing along on the tightrope as Harkness was sent off home for his tea. Asprilla is beyond livid as, scooting upfield into plenty of space, Liverpool are awarded a throw. That one didn’t go out either. The linesmen have been a bit flag-happy tonight. Newcastle are quite right to feel aggrieved.
76 min: McManaman spins down the inside-right channel, away from Beresford in a flash. He whips infield for Fowler, who is waiting to slam home from six yards. Howey manages to slide in and deflect the ball away from the striker. He very nearly shanks it into the top-left corner of his own net, but he deserves the luck as it shaves the outside of the post and goes out for a corner. It was a last-ditch challenge he simply had no option but to make. Fine defending.
75 min: Newcastle sportingly give the ball back to Liverpool from the throw, and Barnes is up and about again.
74 min: Barnes goes down after a tussle with Lee, perhaps jarring a joint when stretching for a ball he was unlikely to reach. Play continues ... until an irritated Ruddock, in a highly energised manner, batters the ball high into the stand so Barnes can get some treatment.
73 min: McAteer clips Ginola’s ankles. The Frenchman isn’t happy, springing up and going nose to nose, eyeball to eyeball, with the Liverpool man. The clash calms down quickly enough.
72 min again: Newcastle break, Ginola caressing a pass down the left for Asprilla, who floats inside for Lee. Bursting towards the box, he chests down, with only Redknapp in attendance. If the ball flies straight forward, Lee will be clear on goal. But it squirts left, allowing Redknapp to step across and usher the ball back to James. Lee wants a free kick, but he’s never getting one.
72 min: Ferdinand barges an in-flight Mcmanaman to the ground from behind. A garden-variety free kick, but Ferdinand’s frustration betrays him, and he flings the ball down with great passion and force. A no-brainer of a yellow card, in more ways than one. The resulting free kick goes nowhere.
71 min: McAteer sends in another of those dangerous low curling crosses. Howey hacks clear under great pressure from Collymore, who it turns out was offside anyway.
70 min: Redknapp scoops down the inside right with a view to releasing Fowler. Albert, the last man covering, does extremely well to hook away from danger.
69 min again: McManaman outmuscles Beresford down the right and scampers free into the box. Continuing to dribble when he should be crossing, he nearly carelessly runs the ball out of play for a goal kick. He flicks it back infield just in time, but the linesman sticks his flag up, insisting the whole ball had gone out. It’s a dreadful decision, doubly so given that Beresford then slides in recklessly and takes both of McManaman’s feet away! That should have been a penalty, and the Kop certainly want one, though to be fair McManaman doesn’t make a song and dance about it.
69 min: On the bench, Keegan has zipped his puffa-puffa jacket right up over his mouth. The look places emphasis on his pained eyes, peeking out over the top, dashing this way and that as he slumps back in his seat.
GOAL! Liverpool 3-3 Newcastle United (Collymore 68)
Lee passes up the middle for Asprilla, but Ruddock intercepts and lays off to Redknapp. The ball’s shuttled wide right, via Mcmanaman, to McAteer. The wing back crosses early, curling a low outswinging ball around Beresford and along the corridor of uncertainty. A laboratory full of Nasa mathematicians couldn’t plot the path any better. The ball evades Albert, then Howey’s lunge, then finally Srnicek. Collymore, arriving at the far post, can’t miss. He flicks home, and takes receipt of Fowler, who leaps into his arms as the pair cavort in front of the Kop. Six goals, and all of them, in their own way, have been crackers!
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67 min: But Newcastle come again, and Beresford, who hasn’t scored all season, nearly notches after a mazy dribble down the left channel. His eventual shot from the edge of the area is screwed across James and out for a goal kick.
66 min: What a chance for Newcastle to go two clear! (Part XXXVIII in an ongoing series.) Asprilla, seemingly dribbling nowhere in midfield, facing his own goal, draws Ruddock and Scales, then flicks a ball between them, up the left flank for Ginola. Suddenly Newcastle are two on one, with only Harkness in the middle, and Ferdinand in yards of space. It’s a simple pass inside to set Ferdinand free, but Ginola overcooks it, sending the striker wide right. Danger over. Oh my.
65 min: Ruddock sprays a Beckenbauerian ball down the left for Jones, who crosses for Fowler. The striker slips, and Newcastle clear. Barnes recycles, and Jones has more space down the left. This time his cross is met by Collymore, who heads harmlessly into Srnicek’s arms, pace and direction both lacking form a promising position.
64 min: The Sky camera pans across the away end, settling on a cloth-capped gentleman who has become one of the icons of Newcastle’s bid for the title. Stevie Charlton, known to all simply as Old Stevie, has been following Newcastle home and away since 1927 ... coincidentally the year the Toon last won the league. He saw his first game as a five-year-old lad perched on his uncle’s shoulders in the Leazes End at St James’ Park. Newcastle, closing in on the title, beat Spurs 3-2. It’ll be some narrative arc, stretching 69 years, if this game ends with the same 3-2 scoreline and Newcastle go on to win title number five. Though if the worst should happen, at least he’s got to witness a Toon title win in his lifetime. Most of the rest of the fanbase can’t say the same.
63 min: Fowler, to the right of the centre circle but facing the wrong way, plays a cute ball round the corner, sending McManaman tearing off down the inside right. He reaches the edge of the box but drags a lame shot towards the bottom left. Easy pickings for Srnicek.
62 min: Ferdinand swans in from the left and finds Lee, who opens up his body with a view to curling towards the top right. He’s swarmed by red shirts. Liverpool go up the other end, Collymore driving down the left and nearly steaming past Watson, but the Newcastle man slides in to steal the ball just in time.
60 min: McManaman and McAteer bustle down the right wing with great determination. McManaman tries to replicate Liverpool’s second by rolling the ball across the face of goal, but this time Fowler, to the right of the D, can only blast straight at Srnicek.
59 min: But this isn’t so pretty: just after the restart, Batty loses his cool in a tussle with McAteer and swings an arm in the Liverpool man’s direction. Both players flap at each other, whereupon the red mist really comes down, Batty swivelling and swinging a right arm that would have taken McAteer’s head off had he made proper contact. That’s either a second yellow or a straight red. But McAteer doesn’t make a big deal of it, indeed he’s smiling as the referee has a quiet word with them both. All friends again. It’s probably the wrong decision ... and McAteer should have been booked as well ... but in the context of this gloriously unfolding match, artistically it’s the correct one. Let’s not do anything that’d spoil such a beautiful creation. Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?
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58 min: Such a delicious, elastic finish by Asprilla, who is some player. He bounds off towards the Toon Army, executing a spring-legged somersault nearly as aesthetically pleasing as his goal. The scores are in from the judges: 6.0, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-3 Newcastle United (Asprilla 57)
Jones throws to Fowler, who is on the back foot and is immediately stripped of possession by Beardsley. The former Liverpool man dances in from the right. Barnes and Redknapp both think he’s going to pass back to his defenders, but as they charge up the pitch in anticipation, Beardsley plays a cute dinked reverse ball past them and towards Lee, running into the centre circle Liverpool have now totally vacated. Lee rolls a through ball between Ruddock and Harkness down the inside right. Asprilla is in acres, having been played onside by Scales in the middle! James comes racing out of his box to do ... well, what exactly? Asprilla, his mind made up for him, curl-whips a right-footed shot to the left of the flailing keeper, who desperately tries to deflect it away with a diving header. No chance! The ball bounces smoothly towards the empty net, Newcastle’s fans and their bench celebrating long before it completes its inevitable journey and crosses the line. Another peach of a goal!
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57 min: Redknapp has his eye in at the moment. Now he quarterbacks McManaman clear down the left. McManaman is through on goal, but Srnicek has read the danger brilliantly and races out of his box to head into touch before the Liverpool winger can take up possession, from which he’d surely have scored. Anfield is roaring. It’s surely only a matter of time before they score agai ... hold on! Scrub that! Because ...
56 min: One throw, two passes, goal. Simple as that. Say what you will about Newcastle’s defence, and their bang-average away record, but there was nothing they could do to stop that. Liverpool simply sliced them open with panache. And they nearly do it again, straight from the restart, as Redknapp spots Collymore in space down the left and sends him off on the charge. He can’t quite dismiss Howey, who sticks to him like glue, and Srnicek is able to come out and smother.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-2 Newcastle United (Fowler 55)
James bowls straight out to McAteer on the right touchline. He swishes a fine pass up the flank for McManaman, who dribbles hard at a frantically backtracking Albert. He reaches the corner of the box and rolls across the face of the area for Fowler, who barely breaks stride before viciously pinball-flippering an unstoppable left-foot shot into the bottom left! What a glorious pitch-length move, and a simple one at that. Fowler, caught in the moment as the Kop erupts and the night air crackles, dives into the net and joyously heads the snagged ball. The sheer fun and exhilaration of that celebration! This team clearly enjoy their football, enjoy being young, enjoy life. They’re not half bad to watch, either.
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55 min: Fowler nearly sends Collymore away down the left with a pass from deep, but the flag goes up for offside. Watson was within range in any case. Newcastle, having weathered a little storm, breeze up the other end through Ginola, who gets past McAteer and Harkness down the inside left – too easily, one might argue – and shoots for the top right. Scales sticks out a leg and sends the ball gently looping into the arms of James. And then ...
54 min: McManaman swings it in. Scales is free, eight yards out, and bashes a header goalwards. It’s not clear whether Srnicek will react, but it doesn’t really matter because Fowler, standing just in front of the keeper, tries to deflect the ball away from him with a gentle eyebrow. Had he judged it right, Srnicek had no chance, and the ball would be nestling in the top left. But he gets far too much on it, and effectively clears it off the line and out for a goal kick. Plenty of folk wearing red with hands on their heads.
53 min: Fowler crosses from the right. Watson mishits his clearance. Redknapp sends it back with interest. Howey blocks the shot. This is mean pinball. Liverpool come back again, Barnes caressing one in from the left. Fowler traps the dropping ball and swishes past Watson in one move, but just as he’s about to pull the trigger, Albert sweeps it off his toe and out for a corner.
52 min: Fowler beats Albert to a high ball and spins off down the right. But he’s flagged for accidentally slapping the Newcastle defender in the mushki mid-challenge. The crowd don’t like it ... but they’ll have to go along with it. The atmosphere inside Anfield is febrile.
51 min: McManaman dribbles down the inside-left channel. He’s got such an elegant, deceptively languid style. He draws Batty towards him, then dismisses him with regal arrogance. He sashays past. It all happens at great speed, yet somehow he appears to be performing in slow motion. No wonder he’s so difficult to play against. He rolls a pass across the face of the box towards Collymore, who tees it up for himself before slicing wildly right of the target.
50 min: Newcastle half-clear Redknapp’s corner. McManaman, to the left of the D, chests down and strokes a fine out-to-in curler towards the bottom left. Srnicek saves, spills and smothers. He did enough.
49 min: Collymore slips McManaman clear down the inside left. He enters the box. There’s nobody in the middle bar Fowler. He whips a cross towards the near post. Or is it a shot?! Either way, it’s heading in. Srnicek is forced to turn the ball around the post for a corner.
48 min: Asprilla breezes past Harkness down the right with borderline contempt. So easy. He reaches the byline and floats a cross over the heads of Ferdinand and Lee, the latter having taken up position in a huge gap in the centre of Liverpool’s negligent defence. Lucky Liverpool.
47 min: Harkness’s first act is to challenge Ferdinand for a ball rolled down the Newcastle right. The ball squirts off his backside towards Lee, bursting into the space he’s evacuated. Lee powers down the channel and into the box, everything opening up for him. He evades a desperate lunge by Ruddock and looks James in the eye. He’s surely got to score but, transfixed, he batters his shot straight at the keeper, who nevertheless parries well, then smothers with Asprilla unable to get to the rebound. In fact, it looks like a prone Lee stopped the ball rolling to his in-rushing team-mate, deflecting it into the road of James! Lee really should have made it three there. And to further illustrate the manner in which this game teeters on a knife-edge, Redknapp goes up the other end and pearls a diagonal riser towards the top left. It’s not miles wide, either.
We go again! Liverpool get the ball rolling for the second half, having made a change during the break. Mark Wright has picked up a knock to his knee and is replaced by Steve Harkness, who starts on the left of Roy Evans’ fancy back three. The home side are kicking towards the Kop in this second half, just as they like it. And it’s got a little nippy. Kevin Keegan – a lovely man who stopped en route to the bench to sign a young Liverpool fan’s plastercast – is now sporting a big puffa-puffa jacket. Peter Beardsley glances over enviously.
Half-time advertising break.
HALF TIME: Liverpool 1-2 Newcastle United
Whoosh! Where did that time go? That was like watching the Chicago Bulls take on the Chicago Bulls. As things stand, Newcastle will haul themselves level on points with Manchester United at the top of the table, an extra game still in hand. Liverpool are 45 minutes away from their faint Premier League hopes being fully extinguished. The thing is, if that breathless first half is anything to go by, anything could yet happen. And it probably will. Stay with us, Matt Dony. Stay with us, everyone. You may regret it forever if you don’t.
45 min +1: Asprilla lays off to Ginola in the centre circle. Ginola plays a first-time pass down the right for Beardsley, who would be through on goal ... had James not been perfectly placed to race from his box and get to the ball first, taking it away from Beardsley in the nick of time. That’s fine goalkeeping, and it’s rewarded with a warm round of appreciative applause.
45 min: Redknapp goes for the top left with a curler over the wall, but can’t quite replicate the jaw-dropper he scored against Blackburn Rovers in the last minute of last season.
44 min again: And now they go up the other end and nearly find an equaliser within seconds! The ball’s shuttled left to right by McManaman, Fowler and Collymore to McAteer, racing down the wing. Fowler makes a run to the near post, dragging everyone with him. McAteer dinks to the far post, where McManaman is clear! But his stooping header from close range, with only Srnicek to beat, is useless, squirting back across the face of the six-yard box. However it nearly turns into an accidental assist, Fowler inches away from meeting it with a Houchenesque diving header. Newcastle half clear. Barnes is bundled over by Beresford, just outside the D, and it’ll be a free kick.
44 min: Then almost immediately, Asprilla runs clear again, latching onto a dismal Barnes backpass. He enters the box and then falls to the ground, nudged from behind by Barnes. Tell you what, there wasn’t a whole lot of pressure applied, and you could make a case that Barnes shoulder-charged from the side. But my, my, you’ve seen those given. Liverpool get away with one. A penalty there, and it’d be difficult to see the hosts coming back from 3-1 down.
43 min: Jones and McManaman combine to win a corner off Beardsley down the left. The set piece is worked to Barnes, then Ruddock, who swings one into the mixer from deep. Albert heads it powerfully back towards him ... but Asprilla is nearby and gets onto the ball first, turning and taking one touch to his left. Ruddock is out of the game totally; the last man Scales, having over committed, nearly out of it as well! Asprilla tears off into the empty Liverpool half! It’s a footrace between him and Scales. The defender recovers well and wins out, with a little help from the bobbly pitch. He sticks on Asprilla’s right shoulder, denying the striker a shooting opportunity. The ball rears up off a divot, clanks between Asprilla’s ankles, and McAteer arrives to steal it away!
41 min: Batty juggles the ball infield from the left, and nearly finds Asprilla on the edge of the D. For once, Asprilla’s first touch lets him down, and Liverpool clear their lines.
40 min: For the first time this evening, the match slips into something of a lull. Perhaps both teams have puffed themselves out. Maybe we should all go home now. On which subject ... “I’m fed up,” writes Matt Dony. “Newcastle going ahead and looking dangerous. I can see it’s an exciting game, but I can only see it going one way. I’ve watched Liverpool lose too many times. I’m gonna turn this off and watch something else for the sake of my sanity.”
38 min: More rococo stylings as Ginola executes a swift dragback, flick and turn out on the left wing, beating McAteer and Barnes with one flourish. He runs slap bang into the beaten Barnes, and wants a free kick, but the ref deems it accidental. Ginola’s not too happy, but not livid either. Bof. This match is being played in a fine spirit.
37 min: Fowler jigs in from the right and lays off to his mate McManaman, who has a dig from distance. His rising shot takes a flick off Batty, and that’s a corner. Liverpool don’t do much with it, and soon Newcastle are breaking dangerously up the left through Beresford and Asprilla. The red defence streams back, and after Asprilla starts throwing a few unnecessarily elaborate shapes out on the flank, the danger is quashed.
36 min: Howey heads harmlessly over from the corner. What sportsmanship by Asprilla, though, with the title on the line.
35 min: Ginola glides down the inside left and draws three red shirts before flicking the ball past them and towards Asprilla, breaking down the channel and into the box. Wright, sliding in - and out of control! - is lucky Asprilla stays honest and upright. The Colombian was entitled to go over the defender’s outstretched leg and claim a penalty. It’d have been given. But instead he elects to stand tall and dink in a cross. His first effort is headed back to him by Scales, the second flashed out by Wright for a corner. In the nick of time, too, with Ferdinand waiting to turn home at the near post.
34 min: Howey pearls a pass down the right for Ferdinand to chase. Ruddock puts himself in the way to usher the ball out for a goal kick. Ferdinand gets a little frustrated and there’s an impromptu wrestling bout, but Ruddock doesn’t seem that interested. Play restarts soon after, and Barnes passes infield from the left towards Collymore, who very nearly opens Newcastle up with a first-time reverse pass down the channel. Srnicek comes out to gather, just in time.
33 min: Newcastle have been quiet for a while. Asprilla and Beardsley try to apply some attacking pressure, albeit daintily, with twinkling toes on the edge of the Liverpool box. But the final pass fails to present itself.
32 min: McManaman dribbles with great purpose down the inside-left channel. He slips Collymore into space on the outside. Collymore tries to return the ball, with McManaman in acres on the edge of the box, but Lee spots the danger and tracks back to intercept. That’s fine football all round.
31 min: Barnes tees up Redknapp, who sends an outside-of-foot screamer wide left from 20 yards. Up the other end, Asprilla and Scales challenge for a high ball, all elbows and hands. It’s a 50-50 flap’n’slap, with no real viciousness or malice, although it momentarily threatens to escalate. Liverpool get the decision, and Asprilla strolls off with a wry smile.
29 min: Barnes probes this way and that. He can’t find the killer ball. Newcastle suddenly spring from deep, Lee and Ginola combining just inside their own half, the latter springing Asprilla clear with a pass pinged down the inside right. But he’s flagged offside, correctly, Wright and Scales having timed their push upfield to perfection. They had to be spot on; there wasn’t much in that.
28 min: Redknapp swings the free kick in deep. Beresford heads weakly out towards Fowler, whose shot is charged down by Albert. Another Liverpool corner. Ruddock gets on the end of it, but can’t power home.
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27 min: Liverpool take the corner quickly, the ball breaking to Ruddock, in plenty of space on the edge of the box. He flicks it up with a view to volleying goalwards, but Matthew Le Tissier the big man is not. His clumpish effort is charged down. The ball ends up at the feet of McManaman, out on the left. Batty comes straight through the back of him, a challenge that emphasises the nonsense part of no-nonsense. Into the book he goes, with the Anfield faithful baying for a red. Yellow is the right decision, though McManaman will have certainly felt that.
26 min: Redknapp swings another of his first-time crossfield passes to Jones on the left touchline. Jones one-twos with McManaman, and nearly gets the better of Watson. Had he managed to do so, he’d be breaking into the area with options in the middle. As it is, it’s just a corner.
25 min again: Redknapp and Scales overplay in their final third, allowing Batty to snap in and send Asprilla off towards the box. His first-time flick inside for Ferdinand is overhit, and the chance to break into the penalty area is wasted. Liverpool were very light at the back. Beardsley isn’t giving this up, though, and dribbles down the right, winning a corner by clunking it off Ruddock. Beardsley takes the corner himself. James takes well under pressure from Albert.
25 min: Ginola takes on Fowler and McAteer down by the left-hand corner flag. He nearly bursts through but an escape into the box is too much to ask, even for this twinkle-toed genius. There’s some slapstick as Ginola, flailing and falling, attempts to tap-tackle first Fowler then McAteer, but only manages to plant his visage on the turf. Anfield is on a rolling boil, a bubbling bain-marie of belligerence. The noise is immense. Everyone engaged with every second of the action.
24 min: Collymore drives in from the left and shapes to shoot, but he’s denied on the edge of the box by a quartz-crystal-timed intervention from Watson. This game is unfolding at an absurd pace.
23 min again: And then from the goal kick, Newcastle ship possession and allow Redknapp another blooter on goal. This time his shot is deflected out for a corner on the left. Redknapp takes it himself but it’s not very good. Newcastle clear their lines properly this time.
23 min: Redknapp swings it into the box from deep. Collymore goes up to win a header but misses it. The ball drops to the feet of Fowler, in an inexplicable amount of space on the penalty spot. Fowler doesn’t have too much time, of course - it’s all relative - and having been surprised that the ball got through to him, quickly sorts his feet out and stabs a first-time shot towards the bottom left. It’s beaten Srnicek ... but it’s millimetres wide of the post!
22 min: Straight up the other end we go, and McManaman drops a shoulder with a view to dancing past Albert and into the Newcastle box down the inside-right. But Albert crumps him with a perfectly-timed slide tackle. Liverpool come again, Jones probing down the left, but he has his left peg swept away by Beardsley, hysterically challenging from behind. A booking for the former Liverpool player, and a free kick, from which ...
21 min: Ginola, a constant menace, sends another diagonal pass in from the left. Ferdinand rises high to the right of the D and nearly cushions his header to the feet of Lee, rushing down the channel. Close, but not quite. James comes out to claim.
20 min: McManaman turns away from three players and into space down the left. He sends Collymore off on another power-wander down the wing. He looks to send another cross in for Fowler, but Newcastle have the bit between the teeth right now, and he’s bustled off the ball by a combination of Howey and Ferdinand. That’s great tracking back by Newcastle’s leading scorer. Goal kick.
19 min: Ginola and Beresford combine to dink the ball past a furious McAteer, who clanks into the latter in irritation. Free kick, from which Ginola probes further down the left wing. McAteer wins this challenge, though, and earns a free kick of his own. Just for a split second, McAteer’s fuse was burning short, but Ginola gives him a friendly stroke of his Merseybeat mop and all’s good again.
18 min: Redknapp tries to kickstart Liverpool back into life. Batty over-commits to a challenge in the centre circle and misses the ball, allowing Redknapp to glide into the space he’s left behind. The Liverpool midfielder mooches down the middle at speed, and takes a shot on early, the best part of 30 yards out. It’s a fantastic effort, rising towards the top right and drifting inches wide of the post. That would have been some goal. Not sure Srnicek, at full stretch, would have got to that had it been on target. We’ve had a whole match’s worth of action already, and we’re not even a quarter in.
17 min: The Newcastle fans are currently “walking in a Keegan wonderland”. It’s party time in the away end. Liverpool have done very little since that early goal.
16 min: A free kick for Newcastle out on the left. Beresford swings it into a loaded box. James comes out to claim with confidence, then gives most of his team-mates a rollocking for something or other. Liverpool look rattled right now, a fact further illustrated when Jones takes his eye off a simple McManaman pass and clumsily runs the ball out of play.
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15 min: This is astonishing! What a response from Newcastle to that early Fowler goal. Keegan was up quickly off the bench there, jumping with joy, his fetching burgundy sports jacket flapping in the cool night air. There’s barely a quarter of an hour on the clock, and there have already been six attempts on goal, three of which ending up in the net. Where next? Newcastle’s fans are making enough noise for the entire 40,702-strong crowd, and can you blame them?
GOAL! Liverpool 1-2 Newcastle United (Ginola 14)
... Liverpool try to counter, Jones probing down the left. Lee and Watson combine to strip him of possession. Watson rolls a pass up towards Ferdinand, just to the right of the centre circle. The striker spins and sends a world-class outside-of-the-foot curled pass wide left for Ginola, who runs unchecked into acres of space! Having started his run from inside his own half, he’s not offside, and there’s nobody between him and James in the Liverpool goal! McAteer tries to get back, but Ginola stays one stride ahead, puts his body between defender and ball, and upon entering the box lashes a left-footed shot into the bottom left! Wow.
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14 min: ... Ferdinand steals the ball from a napping Ruddock down the Newcastle right, and slips inside for Beardsley, who rolls a teaser along the corridor of uncertainty. Liverpool are all over the shop, but there’s nobody in black and white to poke home. And then ...
13 min: Newcastle come straight back at Liverpool. Ginola is causing all sorts of problems down the left. Liverpool are struggling to cope with him. His cross is claimed by James, who rolls out to Jones on the Liverpool left. His pass inside leads to some after-you-Claude slapstick between Redknapp and Barnes, and as the Liverpool midfielders clank into each other, Beardsley swans off with the ball. He rolls it down the centre, splitting the Liverpool defence, and Asprilla would have been free were it not for a saucy tug of his shirt by Ruddock. The defender wasn’t the last man, but that should be a yellow card and a free kick in a dangerous position. But the referee gives it the other way! Asprilla complains in the expressive south-American style, but it doesn’t matter too much, because ...
12 min: Newcastle are snapping at Liverpool’s heels again. Some top-notch keeganpressing. The hosts are struggling to get out of their final third. Ginola creams another pass infield from the left, Asprilla taking receipt and thinking about taking a shot from the edge of the D, but slipping it to Watson, free in acres, to his right. Watson crosses. James comes off his line and, under pressure from Ferdinand, flappity flaps. But the ball breaks to McAteer, who clears.
11 min: Such skill from Asprilla, though. You can see why Kevin Keegan has decided to take a punt on him. What a talent! And what a striker Ferdinand is: that’s his 27th of the season. The big names are living up to the pre-match hype.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Newcastle United (Ferdinand 10)
Watson throws in from the right, deep in Liverpool territory. Beardsley cushions a ball down the channel for Asprilla, who turns Ruddock inside out like an old sock. The tastiest nutmeg. He heads for the byline, and pulls back to Ferdinand. The striker’s got his back to goal, eight yards out, and Wright’s on his back. But he takes a touch to make space, and Wright doesn’t close it down. Ferdinand spins and slams a rising shot past James and into the net! Actually, through James might be more accurate, though Ferdinand was so close to goal, and there was such venom in the shot, it’d be churlish to attach too much blame to the much-maligned keeper. He’d have done mighty well to get hands on that.
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9 min: Ginola, out on the left near the centre flag, swipes a majestic crossfield pass towards Watson, hugging the opposite flank. Watson can’t get past Jones, but earns a throw, from which ...
8 min: Newcastle go straight up the other end, Ginola skittering down the left, drifting inside, and seeking the bottom left with a shot from 20 yards. James gathers. Both sides are really going for this.
7 min: James bowls out to Collymore, to the left of the centre circle. That’s a mighty throw, and Liverpool’s record signing is soon running at Watson and Albert. He shapes to shoot on the edge of the D, hoping to curl one towards the top right, but it’s blocked by Albert.
6 min: Watson flings in a long throw from the right. Ferdinand rises highest, but he’s shoved McAteer in the back to win the header and the whistle goes. Newcastle have absorbed that early blow and are beginning to rediscover their attacking groove.
5 min: Asprilla nearly breaks through down the right but is crowded out. Newcastle are pressing hard, though, plenty of tackles flying in, and soon they win the ball back. Ferdinand strides in from the right, into an absurd pocket of space 20 yards out. It’s a polite invitation to have a dig, and he creams one straight at James, who gathers.
4 min: Collymore is unplayable when he gets the wind behind him. He strides down the middle of the park, ignoring Beardsley en route, and lays off to Fowler on his right. Fowler has McAteer to his right and McManaman in plenty of space on the left, but clanks a directionless pass straight at Beardsley. Newcastle already look dangerously open at the back, like that’s breaking news.
3 min: That’s Fowler’s 34th goal of the season. He’s quite the tyro. Hats off to Redknapp, Jones and Collymore, too. This is a real test now for Newcastle, who have waited so long to get back on the horse, only to suffer an almost immediate setback.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Newcastle United (Fowler 2)
Wright strokes a pass up the right for Fowler. He cuts inside and lays off for Redknapp, who creams a glorious instant diagonal pass wide left for Jones. Liverpool’s left wing-back cushions a first-time ball down the flank for Collymore, who takes a touch to outstrip Watson and, under pressure from Beardsley, whip a sensational ball to the far post. Fowler, on the six-yard line, can’t miss. He heads powerfully down towards the bottom-right corner, poor Srnicek left with no chance as the ball bounces up and high into the net. That’s a peach of a goal, an aesthetic delight, and what a start! One minute and 37 seconds in, and the Anfield cauldron is already bubbling over!
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And we’re off! Ferdinand hollers COME ON!!! – he’s waited 11 long days to right the wrongs of the Arsenal defeat - and Newcastle get the ball rolling. Asprilla’s soon testing Scales down the right. Throw. From that, erstwhile Liverpudlian Beardsley whips in and forces Scales to concede the game’s first corner after 29 seconds. A super-fast start that augurs well. Beardsley takes, and Asprilla challenges Wright, the ball squirting wide right. It looks like another corner, but the referee points for a free kick. Or just a goal kick? It’s not clear. Anyway, Liverpool are able to play out from the back, and ...
The teams are out! Such a special atmosphere at Anfield tonight. The place is bouncing. No wonder, with so much on the line. We’ll be off before you know it!
On the other channels right now: Esther Rantzen celebrates more unsung do-gooders on Hearts of Gold (BBC1); Warwick and Newcastle universities compete for a place in the semi-finals of University Challenge (BBC2); it’s Ajax v Panathinakios in the semi-final of the Champions League on ITV; and Brookside’s on Channel 4, though that’s not been worth watching since they found the body of Trevor Jordache under the patio. If you’re switching over now, you’ll be able to catch highlights from Anfield on Sportsnight, BBC1, 10.25pm. The programme also has a preview of the upcoming Atlanta Olympics. They’re going to be great, aren’t they!
Today’s front page. Looks like the Tories have stopped squabbling among themselves about Europe at long last. Phew. We can put that one to bed, then. Nice one, Johnny boy! Meanwhile the story on the right is about Pepsi-Cola changing the colour of their cans from predominantly red to blue. May we always live in such uninteresting, mundane, comfortable times!
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Britain’s number one.
Liverpool will wear red with an ostentatious white v-neck. It’s their best kit in a while; Adidas owed them one after all those intrusive stripes over the shoulder and around the waist. What on earth were they thinking? Bad Adidas! Naughty Adidas! Ah well, better late than never.
Adidas have done Newcastle proud, too. Their famous black-and-white stripes are rendered in a between-the-wars style with button collar. Hughie Gallacher would have looked damn fine in this shirt. Anyway, there’s plenty of time for a pre-match pint. Shall we nip to the bar? Mine’s a Carlsberg, or failing that a bottle of Newcastle Brown.
Kevin Keegan has been criticised for upsetting the balance of his team with the introduction of Faustino Asprilla, their £7.5m super-signing from Parma. David Batty has come under some light fire too, having displaced Lee Clark in the midfield since his arrival from Blackburn Rovers. Both players keep their place, and Keegan must hope that Asprilla soon forges an understanding with Les Ferdinand, desperately trying to rediscover his goalscoring form of earlier in the season. The only change from the dismal 2-0 defeat at Arsenal: Warren Barton makes way for Steve Watson.
Liverpool meanwhile are in if-it-ain’t broke mode. Roy Evans names the same 11, plus bench, selected last Sunday for the FA Cup breeze past Aston Villa.
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The teams
Liverpool: David James, Jason McAteer, Mark Wright, John Scales, Neil Ruddock, Rob Jones, Jamie Redknapp, John Barnes, Steve McManaman, Stan Collymore, Robbie Fowler.
Subs: Tony Warner, Steve Harkness, Ian Rush.
Newcastle United: Pavel Srnicek, Steve Watson, Steve Howey, Philippe Albert, John Beresford, Peter Beardsley, David Batty, Robert Lee, David Ginola, Faustino Asprilla, Les Ferdinand.
Subs: Darren Peacock, Keith Gillespie, Lee Clark.
Referee: Mike Reed (Birmingham).
Preamble
Newcastle United must be starting to question whether the 1995-96 Premier League title is their destiny after all. It sure seemed that way when Kevin Keegan’s entertainers sat 12 points clear of Manchester United just eight weeks ago. But now, after picking up just four points from the last 15 on offer, their advantage has been frittered away, and now they’re three points behind Alex Ferguson’s men. They’ve still got two games in hand, but the margin of error is slight now. They have to convert the contents of their back pocket into points on the board.
They could very much do with a result here tonight at Anfield. That’s far from a pipe dream: they beat Liverpool 2-1 at St James’ Park back in November, then won at Anfield in the League Cup a few weeks later, Steve Watson the unlikely goalscoring hero on both occasions. They look to have Liverpool’s number, and will be hoping to make it three out of three tonight, hauling themselves level with the leaders. That’d put them second on goal difference with a game still in hand, their dream still very much alive.
But defeat tonight would be unthinkable. Liverpool responded marvellously to that League Cup defeat, going on a 20-game unbeaten run that ended only two weekends ago at Nottingham Forest. They immediately got back on the horse with a 3-0 evisceration of Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals last weekend, and are high on life right now. They’re also still on the fringes of the title race, eight points behind Manchester United in third. A win tonight would keep their faint hopes alive. But they do need all three points, or it’s pretty much all over for them.
Newcastle by contrast simply need to avoid defeat. A win would be lovely, naturally, but a point at Anfield isn’t to be sniffed at, and would at least ensure they’d still be in control of their own destiny. With the Toon desperate to end their 69-year wait for the league title, and Liverpool drinking in the last-chance saloon, this is effectively a winner-takes-all gunfight. It’s Wednesday evening! It’s live on Sky! It’s on!
Kick off: 8pm.
