Vital Three Points Gained by Newcastle at Loftus Road

The big game this weekend was between QPR, who had nothing to play for, and Newcastle, who had survival to play for, and play for it they did, with Yoan Gouffran’s calm volleyed finish being the difference between the two sides.

The game began differently to the final score, and differently to the league-related scenario also, with the team already relegated doing all the talking. Junior Hoilett and the man who almost went to Newcastle in January, Loic Remy were the ones pulling the strings, and within ten minutes, good work from Hoilett caused Mathieu Debuchy, who was playing his first game back from suspension, to bring him down on the edge of the box. The referee decided it was enough for a penalty to be awarded. Controversial, yes. Given, yes.

Remy was the one who stepped up, and placed it low and hard in the bottom left corner. 1-0.

For a team who needed the three points, Newcastle were suitably worried. They hadn’t even turned up yet.

They responded positively however, and Yohan Cabaye had an attempt on goal that he probably should've taken better, and it was only a Jose Bosingwa tackle that stopped the Frenchman from redeeming himself with a fierce shot moments later. However, Bosingwa immediately cancelled his great defending out, by unnecessarily pulling on Hatem Ben Arfa’s shirt inside the area, resulting in another penalty.

Ben Arfa stepped up to take it, and like his French counterpart, converted superbly, this time into the top right corner. Newcastle were back in it already.

Newcastle were the ones who controlled after that. Merely four minutes after their equaliser, they almost went ahead with a goal from an offside position from Papiss Cisse (who else).

QPR bit back though, with Hoilett taking part in a nice one two with Remy, but Rob Elliot parried the resulting shot from the Canadian.

Newcastle weren’t finished with the equaliser, they wanted all three points. A poor pass back to the keeper from Bosingwa gave Jonas Gutierrez time to close Rob Green down, which made his deflected clearance fall straight into the path of Yoan Gouffran, who finished calmly and coolly into an open goal. Newcastle were deservedly ahead.

The sting went out of the game after the goal. Newcastle were controlling it, but didn’t have the desire nor the initiative to push for a third. The half-time whistle came quickly enough.

It would be interesting to see what kind of message Alan Pardew gave the players at half time; it would also be interesting to see how QPR responded. They were playing for pride only.

Newcastle did push on for a third goal that would settle the tie, but their attack just wasn’t ticking properly. Perhaps they were feeling the absence of the injured Moussa Sissoko from the midfield.

Newcastle’s failure to kill the game gave QPR the willpower to push on for the equaliser, with substitute Adel Taarabt and Andros Townsend causing the Newcastle back four all kinds of problems. Thankfully for the Geordies, a return from injury for Argentine Fabrizio Coloccini gave the defense the steel they had recently been missing, and they held firm.

Newcastle seemed determined on making the last ten minutes as hard for their fans as possible, when keeper Rob Elliot received his second yellow card for handling the ball outside the area. Down to ten men, it was a nervy last five minutes for Newcastle.

If only QPR had more to play for, the scoreline could’ve been hugely different. But the Toon Army held on.

It seems like Newcastle are safe then; Wigan need to beat Arsenal and Villa, and rely on another team to drop points in order for them to survive, an unlikely outcome if there ever was one. 

Leander Winden (@LeanderWinden)