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Reserves: League campaign draws to a close
By Paul Mosley 30 Apr 2006
Newcastle's Reserves completed their Barclays Premier Reserve League North campaign on Thursday night with a drab 0-0 draw with Birmingham City (sounds somewhat familiar) at Kingston Park. It was a season of strong home performances blighted by poor away form which ultimately cost us a crack at the title.
The season began with United in fine form, with 7 points and 7 goals from the 1st 3 games - wins over Leeds and Wolves, and a credible draw at Liverpool. There followed a pair of disappointing single goal defeats in Lancashire, to Everton and Manchester City, before we found home comfort against eventual champions Manchester United, with a goal in each half enough to see off the Junior Devils.
Disappointing draws with Wigan and Blackburn, and a poor loss at Birmingham (marred by Craig Moore's injury on his comeback) followed, but United were back to winning ways with a bang on the last day of October, as West Brom left Tyneside having been hammered 5-0, with Chopra getting a hat-trick. He picked up another 4 in the next 2 games, the 1st of which was a disappointing 4-3 loss at Middlesbrough, but the 2nd of which saw a Shola Ameobi hat-trick help to see off Villa 5-1.
Next was the big one - the Wear/Tyne derby at Archibalds Stadium, which the home side looked like winning until Paul Huntington headed a dramatic equaliser in the 3rd minute of added time and send the 15 travelling fans wild, before the year ended with a 2-2 draw at Leeds.
2006 began with successive 2-1 home wins, having been 1-0 down, against Wolves and Liverpool, as a speight of goalkeeping errors began in the 2nd game, with Chris Farman capitalising on a slip from the Liverpool keeper to win us the game 7 minutes from time. A horrific 3-0 loss at Bolton was followed by a comeback from the dead (and a stunning goal from Matty Pattison) saw Everton held 2-2 at Kingston Park.
4 second half goals from Manchester United saw us soundly beaten at Gigg Lane in February (on the day Graeme Souness was sacked), but a Michael Chopra goal saw us pick up our 2nd and final away win of the season at Morecambe against Blackburn later in the month.
Poor defeats at West Brom and Villa sandwiched an impressive 3-0 home win over Middlesbrough (with Boro keeper Brad Jones hopelessly at fault for the 1st goal in particular), before the double was completed over the Village of the Damned, as the lads again came from behind to win 3-2, with Christian Bassila seeing red late on, as we won the 1st of 5 consecutive home games to end the season.
The following week Manchester City came to Kingston Park, and Chopra again gave us the lead with his 14th Reserve goal of the season. City equalised through Ishmael Miller, but we were indebted to Mark Cook for holding onto a point, for he saved Miller's penalty just after the hour.
Wigan were next in Toon, and although we again went behind to a wonder strike from Ryan Taylor (who was sadly later carried off with a serious leg injury), two Carl Finnigan goals won it for us, with the 2nd owing a great debt to veteran Wigan keeper Gary Walsh.
Last week the loyal Reserve followers had to troop to Kingston Park on both Monday and Thursday, and got very little reward. 1 goal and 2 very poor games, with Carl Finnigan's header against Bolton the only moment to savour.
The League season is now almost complete, there are only a handful of games remaining, but a point or better for Liverpool at Manchester City on Tuesday evening will see us drop to 6th. Credit to Tommy Craig and the lads for going through the entire season unbeaten at Kingston Park, a season which saw the lads go behind several times and have to fight back to gain points from losing positions.
Credit also to the fans who go along to support the Reserves every time they play at Kingston Park. The numbers have dwindled to around 500 by season's end, and there weren't even 1000 at the Sunderland game. The Reserves could use the support, that's for sure.
At the end of the day, however, one has to question the wisdom of using Kingston Park as the venue. It's a bit out of the way, and it is a rugby pitch, which meant that the last 5 months of the season were played on an absolutely horrendous pitch on which our young up and coming players have absolutely no chance of improving and progressing on. By the final 2 games, the lads had to resort to route one football from minute 1, and it wasn't working. Something needs to be done, for some of these plauers only play for the reserves. Their one game a week/fortnight is played on that pitch, and to be frank they may aswell not bother.
However, I fully expect to be back at Kingston Park in August, covering the Reserves once again. It's just not rugby, is it? |
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