Newcastle 2-0 Aston Villa - Match Reaction

Monday’s victory against Aston Villa was, undoubtedly, a sweet one for Newcastle fans.

The ‘rivalry’ that has built up between the two clubs – largely stoked up by the Birmingham local press it has to be said – has gathered momentum ever since that ridiculous banner during our relegation season in 2009.

Their local newspaper – the Birmingham Mail – seems to constantly compare Villa to Newcastle, and seem to put endless articles out about NUFC message board comments, continuing to keep the feisty relationship between the two sets of fans to the fore.

Frankly, there is no rivalry. We are poles apart in terms of clubs at the minute, and it is sad to see the once great club capitulating before everyone’s eyes.

Villa fans were taunting Newcastle’s with their “Champions of Europe, you’ll never say that” chant (that they stole from Chelsea it must be said), but if they are not careful, we could be hitting them with a “third tier of English football, we’ve never said that either” retort.

Monday’s game was not a “We owe Villa” game. But it was a “Stick it to Henri Lansbury” game.

The way the story played out was as far-fetched as a Murder She Wrote script for his namesake Angela Lansbury!

Newcastle fans, like all football fans, do not have short memories – just ask Callum McManaman. They were never going to forget his antics for Nottingham Forest when he literally was to blame for getting two players sent off, and us losing three points.

Manager Steve Bruce told him to “Enjoy the boos” at St James’ Park on Monday (Well…he would know what it is like would he not?). However, he clearly could not handle what came his way.

From the very first kick he was jeered, and it was evident that it affected him. His passing was woeful throughout, and when he went over to the Gallowgate East corner to take a set piece for them, he over-hit it, and couldn’t get away from the vicinity quickly enough.

A more astute manager than Bruce would probably have realised how his game was being affected, and benched him at half-time. But the former Sunderland manager seemed to adopt a “we will not give them the satisfaction” attitude… and it was to prove costly for them.

The karma that floated down from the skies to land on Lansbury’s shoulders was an absolute joy for the Newcastle faithful to behold.

To see the hapless midfielder – whose footballing brain was clearly scrambled from a night of constant barracking – lose concentration for the umpteenth time in the game, squirm his attempted clearance onto the post and then bounce back off him into the net was one of those things that happens about as often as a Cheick Tiote screamer in a 4-4 comeback draw!

The sight of him clinging onto the post in despair, hoping that it would shield him from 50,000 fans in the ground will be the subject of memes for weeks to come.

Even the stadium announcer – the very same one that had Bruce up in arms a few years ago after he played “Cheer Up Sleepy Jean” by The Monkees while he was in charge of that lot down the road – could barely maintain his delight with his joyful, build-up-the-anticipation announcement of the “Own Goal…by Aston Villa number five…HENRI LANSBURY!”

It was most definitely a case of “what goes around, comes around” – justice, in the eyes of Black and White fans. Bad management, to any neutrals who witnessed his non-performance, for him to still be on the pitch at that time.

As for the rest of the game, it was another three points in the bid to secure promotion, and another game to check off the list.

We often hear experts say the sign of a good team is to scrape a win – even when they are not playing well.

Newcastle have often been seen to do the opposite – play well, find a way not to win. This is another aspect of the game that Rafa Benitez has turned around this season.

It would be fair to say that the Magpies have not performed to the high levels they set earlier in the season, but they have still managed to put together a nine match unbeaten run.

Maybe the most important thing about this run, however, is that much of it was achieved without top scorer Dwight Gayle.

The importance of that, of course, is the likelihood of him being missing for a few more weeks following the recurrence of the injury that had previously kept him out. The timing could not have been much worse, with the impending visits to Brighton, Huddersfield and Reading all within seven days.

But one player’s misfortune, is another player’s opportunity, and now is the time for Aleksandar Mitrovic to prove his worth.

He made a great start to doing just that when he replaced Gayle on Monday. He basically changed the game, and it was he that was instrumental in the first goal.

He now needs to remain disciplined in what is sure to be three hostile atmospheres, and what would help would be scoring more goals in the games between now and then, thus giving him confidence.

An on-form Mitrovic is a handful for any defender, and he could turn out to be the ace in the hole for Newcastle during their tricky run.

In games when we’re likely to rely more on counter-attacks, his ability to hold the ball up, and his constant threat from set-pieces could turn out to be the difference in them.

But for now, let’s just look forward to the visit of Bristol City on Saturday, and enjoy the fact that we’re back on top of the league.