Match Reaction – Newcastle 2-0 Chelsea

Article by Newcastle Correspondent Sophie Hedley

Chelsea missed their chance to go top of the table after suffering a defeat to Newcastle United.

The Blues, who had won their last six matches, conceded two second-half goals to deservedly lose to the Magpies.

Goals from Yoan Gouffran and Loic Remy secured the win for Newcastle.

Chelsea edged the first half, with Newcastle sloppy in possession. David Luiz sent a free-kick over the crossbar and defender John Terry came close with a header from a Juan Mata corner.

Newcastle were resilient, however, and once the second half started, they became more of an attacking threat.

A surging run from Frenchman Mathieu Debuchy led to a shot by Moussa Sissoko, which was saved well by Petr Cech.

Wasted chances by strikers Shola Ameobi and Loic Remy kept the game goalless, until a breakthrough for the Toon in the 68th minute.

Chelsea conceded a free kick which was then, after a brief chat with manager Alan Pardew, taken by midfielder Yohan Cabaye. Cabaye sent in a brilliant ball for fellow Frenchman Gouffran who headed it in the net, putting Newcastle one-nil up.

Newcastle continued to attack and were rewarded with a second goal.

Vurnon Anita, substitute for the injured Cheick Tiote, found Remy with a perfect ball who then volleyed it in to make it two-nil and game over for Chelsea.

The win for Newcastle moved them up to ninth in the table, with Chelsea ending the day in second place.

Reaction:

Goalkeeper Tim Krul told Newcastle United’s official website:

"It was major - a massive, massive win.

"After such a disappointing week and a really heavy game on Wednesday, to put in such an effort, I am really proud of the lads.

"Sometimes you can lose your spirit in the team when you have a week like this but today we showed how together we are, and how hard we wanted to work for each other.

"We didn't really play that well in the first half but we dug in and made sure they didn't score. Then in the second half we took it to them and scored two fantastic goals.

"We put the graft in and to win 2-0 at home against a team like Chelsea, you could see it boost everyone; the fans exploded again.

"These are the days you want at St. James' Park. The fans have to believe we can beat the top sides and we showed that today."

My Thoughts:

Newcastle totally proved me wrong this weekend! I really didn’t think we would stand a chance against Chelsea with the form they were in. However, after making it through the first half, we were much the better side in the second.

These were three important points for our belief and the team’s morale and now maybe the loss to Sunderland doesn’t make us look so bad. After all, we’ve played much better lately and picked up some good results against Cardiff and Liverpool.

It was also good to see a couple of players not necessarily first teamers step up. Yoan Gouffran and Vurnon Anita (when he came on) both put in great performances.

The effort Gouffran puts into every game is really good to see. It looks like it means a lot to him and that’s what all Newcastle fans want to see in their players; someone who cares and fights for the cause. His first goal at St James Park was well earned too.

Vurnon Anita played brilliantly when he came on for Cheick Tiote too. He’s back to pushing Tiote for his starting place, with his flair and technical ability standing out. The way he set up Remy for his goal shows he has a lot to give this club and he’s also a reliable performer.

Overall, it was a great result and a great day and hopefully we’ll be able to take momentum from this into Sunday’s game against Spurs to move further away from the relegation zone.

Next fixture: Tottenham (a), Premier League. (Sun 10/11, 12pm)

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