Toon profit from wasteful Wolves! Wolves 1-2 Newcastle

Jonas celebrates his stunner at Wolves
Newcastle continued their stunning start to the season courtesy of a hard fought 2-1 victory over Wolves this afternoon.

The victory came about thanks to a huge slice of luck, some favourable refereeing, the sheer wastefulness of the Wolves attack, some great defending and goalkeeping plus some clinical finishing on our part.

You can sit here and pick holes in the win – of which there were a few by the way – but we now sit 3rd in the table heading into the international break having gone 12 games unbeaten and won back to back fixtures. It’s not all doom and gloom although we could and should have done much better on the day and very nearly blew it in the final stages of the game.

Alan Pardew named the same team for a third game in succession as the game quietly got under way. Chances were at a premium as both sides poked and felt their way into the game. Wolves looked decent but the pace and power of Leon Best and Demba Ba always looked like it would cause the home defence some problems.

And that proved to be the case just 17 minutes into the game when Demba Ba nodded in a superb near post Yohan Cabaye corner with Wolves ‘keeper Wayne Hennessey left blinded by the sun and obstructed by a group of players from both sides. That’s 4 goals in 2 games since Demba Ba found his shooting boots.

From then on Newcastle started to assert themselves more and managed to retain the ball for longer periods of the game. Wolves threatened a few times through Kevin Doyle and Stephen Fletcher while Jamie O’Hara forced a fine save from Tim Krul.

Ultimately it proved fruitless though as the away side extended their lead seven minutes before the break when Jonas Gutierrez dribbled from nigh on the halfway line past a couple of Wolves defenders before arrowing a shot into the corner of the Wolves net. It really was a fantastic goal that deserves all of the plaudits it will no doubt attract over the coming days.

That should have been that for the first-half, but there was still time for contentious decision number one. Steven Taylor looked to have fouled Jamie O’Hara inside the box only for referee Mark Halsey to adjudge the foul to have occurred outside of the penalty area and award a free-kick instead. We got away with that one.

Half-time: Wolves 0-2 Newcastle

The second half started off quietly, much like the first, but once again it was Newcastle who had the first real clear cut chance when Leon Best broke forward and fed the ball to Demba Ba who shot inches wide the post. At 3-0 it would have been game over.

However is wasn’t and Wolves started to push forward to try and get back into the game. Our answer to their onslaught was Tim Krul who, for me anyway, was Man of the Match. Time and again he snuffed out Wolves crosses and denied their strikers with perhaps his best moment coming when he made a double save from Steven Fletcher and Jamie O’Hara midway through the second half.

The home side continued to press for a way back into the game and Newcastle retreated backwards with the hope of stemming wave after wave of Wolves attacks. Fortune favours the brave as they say, and with our defence putting bodies on the line and throwing themselves in front of the ball you could argue that we’d earned a bit of fortune.

Wolves did get their goal two minutes from time though through Steven Fletcher who stooped low to nod in an Adam Hamill cross. That, combined with the announcement of five minutes of added time, was enough to spur on the hosts as they looked to sneak an equaliser.

To be honest I thought they managed the equaliser in stoppage time when Kevin Doyle made the most of a goalmouth scramble to prod home an equaliser that sent the home fans into raptures. Unfortunately for them their collective joy was cut short by the linesman’s flag who indicated that Adam Hamill’s cross had gone out of play before being headed back across goal by Matt Jarvis. Once again being honest, the ball didn’t look out to me. That was contentious decision number two.

Full-time: Wolves 1-2 Newcastle

In hindsight we were lucky and we very nearly paid for the decision to take Demba Ba off. Whether it was as a precaution or not, his withdrawal pretty much ended our participation as an attacking threat. Leon Best tried, but he couldn’t do it all by himself.

This victory will understandably leave the Wolves fans feeling somewhat irked, which funnily enough is the exact same feeling that I had last season when I walked away from Molineux. It’s funny how things go full circle isn’t it?

The referee and his assistants will no doubt be the subject of much anger from the Wolves contingent, and rightly so after the decisions that went against them. However one of the other questions they should be asking is just how they only managed to find the back of the net once from 25 attempts at goal.

From an NUFC perspective I’ll take it all day long. How many times have we had a decision against us? How many times have we deserved more from the game? Unfortunately for Wolves we fell on the right side of things today but in hindsight it could have been any team.

This performance should give Alan Pardew his excuse to change the team. Yes we won the game but there was room for improvement, and with players like Hatem Ben Arfa, Sylvain Marveaux and Davide Santon sat on the bench for once we have an option of change.

It’s hard to be too down though. As I said earlier, we’re 3rd in the league with a return of 15 points from our first seven league games so in that sense it can’t get much better. Will it last? Probably not, but it is nice to head into the international on the back of another win.

Howay the lads!

Wolves: Wayne Hennessey, Ricahrd Stearman, Cristophe Berra,Roger Johnson, Stephen Ward, Matt Jarvis, Karl Henry, Jamie O’Hara, Stephen Hunt, Steven Fletcher, Kevin Doyle

Subs: Dorus De Vries, Matt Doherty, Ronald Zubar, Guedioura, Adam Hammill, David Edwards, Sam Vokes

Newcastle: Tim Krul, Danny Simpson, Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Gabriel Obertan, Yohan Cabaye, Cheik Tiote, Jonas Gutierrez, Leon Best, Demba Ba

Subs: Rob Elliot, Davide Santon, Danny Guthrie, Sylvain Marveaux, Sammy Ameobi, Hatem Ben Arfa, Peter Lovenkrands

My Man of the Match: Tim Krul. Easily.

Attendance: 26,561

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

72 thoughts on “Toon profit from wasteful Wolves! Wolves 1-2 Newcastle

  1. A win is a win. Didn’t get to catch the match at all today and it seems like we had a lot of luck in some of the decisions today. It sounded as if Raylor was having a bit of a torid time today, seems like Wolves had the measure of him.

    Delighted for Jonas with his goal, he puts so much effort in for the team every single match and he deserves to get one today. Haven’t had a chance to see the goal yet but it sounds mint

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  2. Good write up Toonsy.
    Spot on mate.
    Agree we will see some changes against spuds.
    2 weeks to prepare for them an all. 👿

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  3. Hitman – Did you see what some of the U18’s were saying about it on Twitter? Class 😆

    adamcampbell_ Adam Campbell
    Wanted that game to last forever !! Never get tired of beating them lot, absolutely love it, top class from the boys as per usual #NUFC #SMB
    5 hours ago
    Adam Campbell
    adamcampbell_ Adam Campbell
    Wowww !!!! Absolutely buzzing !!!! On top of the world, never been so buzzing haha, yessss boysss #alwaysinourshadow #SMB #SCUM #NUFC
    5 hours ago

    😀 😀 😀

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  4. Toonsy good read mate, we were a bit lucky but I will take it as somanytimes before the luck went against us.
    Do you know how many points we had at this stage last yr under God ?

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  5. Krul was brilliant today but i think STaylor is a very close 2nd for MOM the lad got his body in front of at least 3 goal bound shots today and was awesome . imo his best performance of the season .

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  6. well done lads , lucky or not we won and thats that, watched the match and i can,t understand why he did,nt try santon at left back as raylor was all over the place, credit to him though he did make some cracking blocks, also thought he should of brought on a midfielder instead of lovenkrands to tighten things up at 2-0, delighted with season so far hwtl

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  7. Good victory. But Pardews tactics need to improve. we need a more effective forward tho. we need a striker who can create a goal from nothing. we need a striker who is more accurate with his shots. imagine what we could do with a torres, rooney or dare i say owen in the side!

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  8. Rockin? 😈
    New beginnings… fresh starts…etc….whatever…
    I honestly can’t believe the start to this season, whether by accident or design we are starting to look like a serious unit (and long may it continue)
    Is it safe to start believing again?
    (long time reader/first time poster)

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  9. tawanda when was the last time you seen torres and owen being affective ? i can agree with rooney , best is getting better by the game and ba is definatly improving big time and both of them have more goals than torres and owen

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  10. I’m glad Best and Ba keep scoring,but anyway,
    if we fail singing Papis Cisse, Loic Remy, or Maiga, or Erdnic, i would
    like our scout to look at these players from Netherlands. Offcoure could
    anyone update me about our acadamy striker starlets? Airey is injured? Donaldson? When Vukcic
    is going to play for reserves, what’s new about his injury ?
    Has Ranger improved his attitude (he gets games for reserves, that should be positive news.)
    I also heard Hooper is doing very well..

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luuk_de_Jong
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfried_Bony
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glynor_Plet
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolbeinn_Sig%C3%BE%C3%B3rsson
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Matav%C5%BE
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miralem_Sulejmani
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Babel

    P.s Congratulate everyone with todays double against
    wolves and sunderland u-18 (4-0!!):)

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  11. Wolves fan here

    While I thought we were a little unlucky, I thought you lot played well & it was a classic away performance, as I thought u were always menacing on the break, don’t think there’s much between our teams.

    And you lot were noisy, fair play.

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  12. Krul: 9 Some outstanding saves today
    Simpson: 8 Solid for most part. Improving…
    Colo: 8.5 Not his best,but still Captain Colo!
    S.Taylor: 8.5 Best this season?
    R. Taylor 8 Did you see his clearance about half-way through the 1st half!!!
    Tiote: 8 Better and better
    Cabaye: 8.5 Like a ninja(I know,lol):when he plays bad you hardly notice him, when he plays well he’s scary!
    Oberatan: 7 Very lively but still needs end product
    Jonas: 9.5 My M.O.M. Lively everywhere, scored a wondergoal, but was superb all game. What a contribution. NO wonder Benny and Marveux had to wait..>Would you have risked them?
    Best: 7.0 Good contibution but way off his (sorry)
    Ba: Great header, little else. But won’t knock anyone today. great stuff

    Subs: Lovenkrands 6

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  13. Tawanda
    October 1, 2011 at 18:51

    “Good victory. But Pardews tactics need to improve.”

    The same tactics that have seen us get to third place?

    I don’t think people realise that you can’t be on top in every single game…

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  14. grace good on ye 😉 twas a good game and you’s were unlucky but as we have been the same loads of times I will take the luck when it comes our way. Honest question what do you think of Henry ???

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  15. We’re winning even though we aren’t playing at full throttle. Good teams do that.

    All things considered, it’s a good time for an international break. Gives us time to regroup and bring HBA, Marv and Santon into the team.

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  16. Man U – Lost 3-0 – 0 points
    Villa – Won 6-0 – 3 points
    Wolves – Drew 1-1 – 1 point
    Blackpool – Lost 0-2 – 0 points
    Everton – Won 1-0 – 3 points
    Stoke – Lost 2-1 – 0 points
    Man City – Lost 2-1 – 0 points

    7 games, 7 points, GD of 0

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  17. Big Dave

    Personally I like him, I know him & we are from the same part of wolves, so I was buzzin when he was captain, I know u lot don’t care for him coz of the Barton thing, but I promise u the kid ain’t a dirty player, ‘water carrier’ yes, but not dirty

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  18. A sign of true champions is when you win games without playing well.

    Although that’s not us, it is still encouraging all the same

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  19. So we are doing better then 😆 even with out our ‘best player’ and a load of new players that are still settling in 😕 So maybe Jabba was right to get a more ‘experienced’ manager as there is noway we would win scraps like this last year

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  20. Does anybody understand the thinking of bringing on Loverman for Ba? All I could think was it was a reward for Loverman’s performance in the cup game recently. (Am I imagining there was a cup game recently?) And maybe also the stamp on Ba’s foot, hoping to protect him. Didn’t really understand it tactically though.

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  21. Grace I guess he is a bit like what we had with Joey, you love him when he’s your player because you can see more to him than ‘ only the bad side that others see’ type of thing

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  22. Still canna believe that we’re sittin’ pretty at 3rd place in the prem. Probably won’t last, but I’m enjoying it while it does!!

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  23. Rich – Nowt wrong with being cautious 😉

    Moreno – Yes, but we didn’t win by pummelling the opposition which is distressing some fans who are questioning the tactics?

    FSOTC – The only thing I can think of is more mobility, plus Loverman played more in midfield

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  24. Big Dave

    As much as I don’t like him, Barton is a better footballer than Henry, but I think a club like yours are better without him, coz he’s a *****, he’s left you lot for a longer contract, nothing more, as much as i also like QPR, they are just the latest get rich quick club on the block, which I think is poor & shows he ain’t got much belief in his own ability

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  25. Yes they were wasteful but we also wasted good chances and should have been out of sight by the 70th minute of the game.

    Next two games huge are big ones. Both at home and playing Spurs will give us a good idea where we really are. If they beat us, Wigan is a good follow up game to get back on track.

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  26. Stuart 😆 😆 its funny how we the fans keep saying the next game or games will give us a better test or a better idea of where we are etc 😆

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  27. Grace
    October 1, 2011 at 20:23

    “as much as i also like QPR, they are just the latest get rich quick club on the block, which I think is poor & shows he ain’t got much belief in his own ability”

    Completely agree

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  28. Hopefully these two weeks will allow the team to work on aspects that might have been vulnerable today. Perhaps Santon could make his debut against spurs, think raylor might be walking on a tightrope as his performance today wasn’t particularly great but he did save make some vital blocks

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  29. I didn’t manage to see the game today unfortunately, but would the lads who saw the game say that the best team won, or were we lucky ? Aside from the 2 obvious howlers from the ref, which may have provided Mick MacMakkem with a welcome distraction and outlet for his frustration, I get the impression that we were well worth the win, having played some great football in the first half..

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  30. Zoe like you I would like to see Santon at LB, But how do you drop Raylor from a winning team.
    I know he isn’t the best LB but I just think it would be hard on him to drop him while we’re winning and he hasn’t really made a big **** up and cost us points 😕

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  31. Zoe – Simpson was far more shaky than Raylor IMO. Both goals, the one given and the one chalked off, came from his side, and the penalty that wasn’t a penalty was because Simpson went AWOL

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  32. Dave @45, been thinking that for a few weeks 😆 😆 😆
    I guess the old cliché that the next game is always the most important even applies to the fans now for keeping our feet on the ground

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  33. The beauty of Santon over Pieters, despite being a better player, is that he covers both full back positions. This guy isn’t apparently a right footer who plays on the left, he seems ambidextrous and while may slightly be stronger on the right, his left is almost as effective.

    That’s going to be vital for us over the next few years.

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  34. FJ, i know what you’re saying but didn’t stop me getting nervous when i saw colo with a knock 😕

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  35. Hmmm, if that’s the case then Simpson should be dropped but I don’t see that happening anytime soon

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  36. Toonsy@51…I was thinking the same about Simmo. Regarding the penalty that never was, why on earth did he tackle the bloke, a good defender would have just jockeyed the Wolves player out towards the bye-line… For the Wolves goal, the lad who crossed the ball was actually doubled up by Simmo and Obertan, but still managed to get the ball into the box. Don’t wanna be seen as picky like, but he tends to blow hot and cold does Simmo…

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  37. I think we’re gonna be right up for it after the international break, and we’ll win both the home games against Spurs and Wigan. No bother, 2 full houses on the hill and the Toon Army in full voice. Howay the lads !…

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  38. MM to be honest I thought Colo made a few mistakes today aswell, I just think the spotlight seems to be more on Simmo and Raylor and their mistakes.

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  39. I’ve been saying for a while that simpson does not know the positional sense of playing at RB, he needs to learn the basics asap and not walk back when a player has got past you

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  40. Big D…you could be right mate, I never saw the game today unfortunately, we were stuck up a mountain somewhere…Collo is a bit untouchable whereas Simmo and Raylor get some stick from the fans. Raylor is doing his best, but shouldn’t be at left back… 🙁

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  41. Zoe – ur just trying to convince urself that it’s time for ur boy Santon to start!

    Raylor was fine actually, thought Simpson made some important contributions too – if anything Colo made the biggest individual error…. the 2nd half meltdown was due to Ba being knackered, Pardew making the wrong sub and our midfield not retaining possession (these 3 points are related by the way)

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  42. I´m a little disappointed in Obertans second half. He wasted a lot of passes in wrong areas and made a mess of his defensive duties when Wolves scored. I was very surprised he wasn´t subbed.

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  43. I agree with you Robert – Obertan had a poor 2nd Half and should have been replaced. I’d have brought on Marveaux for Ba and then Guthrie for Obertan…. with Lovenkrands keeping the bench warm

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  44. JJ – I thought we defended well (just about) and Krul was outstanding…. our problems came in midfield and up front and an inability to retain possession, particularly after Ba faded around the 60min mark. I’m not singling Obertan out here… but i still would have chosen to replace him after around 75mins

    Marveaux for Ba
    Guthrie or Benny for Obertan

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  45. Agree, we should have gone to 5 in the midfield when we took Ba off.
    Mistake by Pardew there, but he clearly felt like he owed Loverman a run out after not bringing him on last week.
    4-5-1 for the final 30 mins would have seen us keep a clean sheet I reckon and took alot of the pressure off the defense.
    But I’m confident we can learn from this and improve.

    At the end of the day, despite some strange reffereeing decisions, some scrappy play from us, we still came away with 3 points in the bag :mrgreen:
    Bring on the spuds.
    Toon Toon

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  46. Also would just like to say, Jonas was magnificent yesterday in both defense and attack and should have scored more than just 1 goal.
    He was totally knackered at the end lol.

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  47. I thought S Taylor was a bit of a liability really. Poor challenges, poor decision making and positioning too.

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  48. BB – ur spot on there, Pardew thought he owed Lovenkrands a Prem chance after he scored twice at Forest…. woolly logic in my opinion

    Anyway…. we got away with it, 3 points in the bag and I’m assuming he’s got it out of his system now and can go back to making more sensible subs in 2 weeks time, haha

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  49. JJ: Maybe unfair cause we made a poor second half but then again you shouldn´t give away possession in the middle of the park. I´d have subbed a striker for a mf. to tighten it up. Pards has done that a few times. Very nice to see the whistle, almost hade a heartattack when Doyle scored…

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