Though the Magpies had outplayed the Tigers in the first half, the crowd was jittery owing to the fact that despite the massive statistical advantage, the home side had failed to score. Is it Riviere or the formation, which leaves him alone up top? We'll return to that in a minute. Hull took the lead on a brilliant scissor shot from Jelavic, this week's YouTubeable Moment. A second goal from Diame, also a well-taken shot, in the 68th minute left Newcastle looking dead and buried. I was texting back and forth with Dennis trying to get the correct spelling of f***, f***, f***ety, f*** (final ruling f***ity). Surprisingly, the St. James' crowd did not mutiny. Further surprise, Cisse was inserted for Riviere, despite lingering questions about his fitness. Biggest surprise, Cisse nets two in 15 minutes and Newcastle steal a point back from Hull.
Where to start? I know, I know. We have to get three at home against teams like Hull. But, the Magpies pretty much dominated. Two minor mistakes by two of the squad's more reliable players (Colback and Tiote) and Hull needed two amazing shots to convert them. Creativity in the final third and finishing continue to be the issue. I'm torn between the problem being Riviere or a formation with one striker. Cisse didn't seem to have a problem with the formation. This cool graphic suggests several things. Like Riviere wasn't very effective except when he moved away from goal, which doesn't sound like a good thing for a striker. (Postscript: he scored one goal from open play and another on a PK in Newcastle's 3-2 midweek win over Crystal Palace in the Capital One League Cup third round match so maybe he's figured something out.) Or, as the text notes, maybe Cabella and Sissoko are crowding each other on the right. Whatever the issue, that did not look like a relegation-worthy team on Saturday. This was another game I'm sure they would have lost last year so the draw isn't all bad. I know, I know. They still sit at the bottom of the table.
On the other side of the pond, there isn't much positive spin I can find for the Union's 0-0 draw with Houston. They didn't look bad but at home against a team behind them in the standings has to be a win. Sure, the Union could have been given a PK for the foul on Noguiera in the box but that can't be the sum total of the offense. What's worse, the competition had a pretty good weekend. The Red Bulls beat up on Seattle's second team and Columbus took a 1-0 win from New England. Maybe the Union's fate will come down to the two matches with Columbus on 10/11 and 10/26. In the meantime, they have a tough test at RFK Stadium against DC United this weekend. Setting the bar
Aston Villa Returns to Earth
This match went exactly according to the season plan except for one minor flaw. We defended well early, pressed as a team, and countered as team, leading to two excellent chances in the first 20 minutes.....that we did not score. Having exhausted our two shots on goal for the match (we did actually manage a third, though much later I believe) and having no goals to show for it spelled doom. The Villans hung on for another 10 minutes until Ozil finally broke out of his post world cup daze and easily slotted home the opening goal. Arsenal were just warming up and scored two more goals in the next 3 minutes. One was an own goal that would probably have been scored by Arsenal had Cissokho not done the honors and the other was a typical Arsenal display of quick movement and even quicker passing. Aston Villa essentially gave up the fight at this point and never really made a serious attempt at a comeback.
There was much talk before the match about a bug spreading through the Villa camp in the previous week. It even forced starting midfielder Ashley Westwood out of the match during pre-game warm ups. It's hard to blame some unknown force for 4 minutes of utter incompetence and the team didn't appear especially sluggish or tired, but who knows. Maybe they all only had 30 minutes of real energy to give. Or maybe Arsenal beats them every time. In any case, this was a somewhat expected set back that still leaves Villa with 10 points and sitting in third. It was, however, disheartening to watch Villa's effort, or lack thereof, after falling behind followed up by Leicester's fearless answer to their early deficit while hosting Manchester United. I don't feel like our players believe such a comeback is possible and I certainly won't believe it until I see it - early leads and stingy defense feel like our only path to victory this season. Hopefully that can be enough.
Message to EPL Top Table Teams
Excuse me but wtf? Us middle to lower table teams expect the top table sides to take care of business when they face the bottom dwellers. These are the teams we fight with to avoid relegation so giving away three points to them is simply unacceptable. Yeah, I'm looking right at you Tottenham (1-0 losers to West Brom) and Everton (3-2 losers to Crystal Palace). Manchester United managed another first and it didn't involve losing at Old Trafford; this was the first EPL match the Red Devils lost after having a two-goal lead. And Liverpool fell behind 0-2 early, got close but ultimately lost to West Ham 1-3.
FC Does Not Stand for Fight Club
Arlo White suggested the Man City - Chelsea contest was a cagey match. Cage match was more like it. Referee Mike Dean started out lenient, trying to let them play and not disrupt the flow too much, but eventually had to start handing out yellows like business cards to keep the match from turning into a hockey game. Eventually somebody got a second - Zabaleta - and Chelsea had a man advantage for the last 30 minutes. Man City could possibly have had 12 or 13 men on the field and it wouldn't have mattered given the quality of Hazard's cross to Schurrle. But the story line was heading elsewhere. Frank Lampard, he of 200+ goals for Chelsea, came on as a substitute for Man City and with a lovely right footed shot squared the match in the 85th minute. Out of respect for his former teammates, his "celebration" was quite muted. Given the level of fouling, I would not submit this match as an example soccer as the "beautiful game," but I would suggest it was fascinating and riveting to watch, worth viewing even if you know the outcome.
Derbies and More Derbies
Two biggies this weekend - Merseyside and North London. Everton travel to Anfield and Tottenham are at The Emirates. Of the four, only Arsenal have displayed any kind of acceptable form recently but expect these to be high quality matches. Aston Villa continue their march through last year's top five, facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge; I think Dennis has already discounted this match so even a point would be gravy. Man City have what should be a winnable road match versus Hull, assuming they are not wiped out from the Chelsea match. Man United get West Ham at Old Trafford; frankly I don't know what to expect from them anymore. And lastly, Newcastle travel to Stoke City for a Monday match. Incredibly, the Potters have scored fewer goals then the Magpies but do have a stingy defense; a draw would be a very satisfactory result for Newcastle.
Looking at the TV schedule, here's a thought that is sure to be a hit in your household. On Saturday, get up at 7:30, turn your TV on to NBC Sports Network, plant your butt in a comfortable spot and don't leave until around 5:15. You'll see Liverpool-Everton at 7:45, Man United-West Ham at 10, Arsenal-Tottenham at 12:30 and DC United-Union at 3 pm. Kinda makes you wish for a snow day in September doesn't it?
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