Following on from our last-gasp victory over Fulham we now have the task of trying to overcome a 3-1 first-leg deficit against a Benfica side who look rather handy.
It’s a difficult task but not unachievable thanks to an away goal scored by Papiss Cisse last Thursday. Unfortunately for us though, two lapses in concentration, or defensive howlers if you prefer, have left us with work to do if we are to reach the Semi-Final of the Europa League. If we can get past this one it has to go down as one of our best nights in recent years such is the scale of the task at hand.
A full house at St James’ Park will pretty much guarantee that the lads have vocal backing throughout the match. When backs are against the wall the folk of Tyneside tend to come out fighting and Benfica can expect a raucous atmosphere inside the ground. An early goal in favour of the home side will only serve to increase the volume levels.
United will have to go to battle without several first-team players missing through injury and through being ineligible to play in this competition for us. However on the plus side, for tonight anyway, we have Hatem Ben Arfa available after recovering sufficiently from a hamstring injury earlier than expected. As a further boost in general, United will be boosted by the return of several more first-team players ahead of the visit of Sunderland on Sunday.
For details of exactly how many injuries we are carrying, some detail about the match along with some stats and facts about this game and our participation in Europe in general, then why not click here and read my match preview of the game if you haven’t already done so?
The game itself is being shown live on what was formerly known as Liverpool TV but is now simply referred to as ITV4. That means that a lot of those who weren’t able to grab tickets to the game will be able to watch it live on the box. It’s also scheduled for live broadcast in lots of overseas countries but although it’s easily accessible there will still be people who need to watch it via a stream, so if you happen to find a good stream then please feel free to share it by leaving a link in the ‘comments’ section below.
Team news will be added at the bottom of this article and will be detailed in full as and when it becomes available. I’ll be at work and will be missing the game so once again it will be Big Dave who will be filling my boots and providing you with the teamsheets.
And that is just about that. Now it’s over to the ones that can make or break the night. Will we have more magical moments on Tyneside this evening? Or will the staff at St James’ Park be packing away the Europa League banners for an as yet unspecified amount of time?
Howay the lads!
Newcastle: Krul; Simpson, Williamson, Yanga-Mbiwa, Haidara; Bigirimana, Cabaye (c), Anita, Gutierrez; Sissoko; Cisse.
Subs: Elliot, Perch, Gosling, Marveaux, Ben Arfa, Campbell, Shola Ameobi
Benfica: Artur, Luisao, Garay, Almeida, Gaitan, Matic, Perez, Lima, John, Salvio, Melgarego
Subs: Lopes, Cardoza, Aimar, Pereira, Rodrigo, Jardel, Gomes.
We will take our frustration out on the Scum on sunday .Must say they gave it everything tonight .It just pisses me off that CL teams progress at the expense of the original teams in the competition.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Anyone who thinks that they could have better tactics tonight has spent too much time on Football Manager or whatever electronic game is the latest fad. Or is still 12 years old mentally 🙄
It was a good game and we gave it a good go and we almost made it against a team that is a serious contender for the title. Full credit to the lads once again and that is my conclusion on tonight’s affairs.
griff(Quote)
I’ll have to see the game again but on first viewing I really did think we played entertaining football but I looked very incoherent. Maybe tactics is not the right word but plan may be the better word.
It just looked like we were not reading off the same sheet. A few players seemed to have different memos as to the plan.
But like I said I would have to view it a second time but these are my first impressions.
Michael12(Quote)
Thought M’Biwa was a little shaky, but I don’t get the Bramble comparisons.
He’s a young CB, playing in a new league, with (tonight) a new partner. And even then, mistakes included, I thought he was OK tonight.
I almost wish we could start every game needing 2 games. We look much better attacking than defending.
blip(Quote)
ST – I kinda agree with you, but sympathise with Cisse at the same time coz he’s the only goal scorer we have at the moment so all the pressure is on him to get the goals to win games.
Poor or trying too hard? – I’m not sure mate.
Sharpy17(Quote)
ST I will defend Cisse all night long but I will always admit if he hasn’t had the best of games, and yeah he made mistakes tonight, but some of the stick he gets is well OTT, and some of the comments make me think that they are from WUMS that why I ignore most of them.
Big Dave(Quote)
Kim-Aye, cabage. sums up what he resembled today ❗ 😆
Newkie(Quote)
Team for scum:
Krul
Simpson, M’Biwa, Saylor/Willo, Haidara
Cabaye, Jonas
Ben Arfa, Sissoko, Gouffran
Cisse
I STILL haven’t seen enough from Marv, when starting, to suggest he should always start. As an impact sub though, he’s one of our best.
blip(Quote)
Thought we did well overall. Disappointed in Cabaye, thought he was poor tonight. Back 4 did well overall. Haidara is excellent. Impressed with him. Benny changed the game. Did well when he came on as did Marv. I’d start with Benny and Marv on Sunday.
Pushing for a second was always going to open us up to a break and so it was. The damage was done in the away leg. Oh well. Proud of the lads.
Now… Mackems…
Cologne-toon(Quote)
Micheal ,It’s pointless debating about Cisse with you .So he scored two offside goals ,so what ,he ran his socks off tonight the guy never loses heart and never gives up .As long as he does that I for one am happy and if you are not ,well honestly I couldn’t give a flying ****.
KIMTOON(Quote)
ST-I agree that it’s great that Cisse can score while still not even at his best. Assuming the lads can all hit form at a similar time next season we should be able to put a good run together.
Newkie(Quote)
Kim @ 235 here here 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
@Kimtoon: I never said he is lazy or lacks heart. Please tell me where I said anything like that. I agree with you he gave heart and he does not give up all of which are great qualities.
Michael12(Quote)
kim just tell him to fck off the little gimp
batty(Quote)
Watching Spuds now ,rather them than we fell out the Champs league Chelski win it or Benfica.
KIMTOON(Quote)
michelle12 you need a good slap with 1 of daves wet kippers
batty(Quote)
Just the facts, m’am.
Cisse now has (including one game with Senegal):
6 goals in his last 10 games
9 in his last 20
8 in the 18 since Ba split town.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
He was just poor scored a goal which was set up on a silver tray for him.Wasin the right place at the right time ran his socks off, tried hard but trying or having heart, not giving up is not a substitute for quality which he lacked considerably today.
Too many basic mistakes.
Michael12(Quote)
Micheal , I never said you did ,but you are onto him like a sailor on a tart first chance you get as usual . 🙄
KIMTOON(Quote)
Oh, and, he’s scored in his last three games.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
@Batty: Pejorative is not a substitute for a good argument.
@ Fans should own the Club: Agreed he is improving of late.
But tonight he was poor.
Michael12(Quote)
fsotc and hes been unlucky with hitting the post at leat 3 times in the last 3
batty(Quote)
Micheal ” Was in the right place at the right time ” 😆 Yeah mate that’s cause he’s a striker 😯 🙄
KIMTOON(Quote)
michelle wet kipper for you
batty(Quote)
Don’t get the Cisse criticism. Yes he needs to Learn the offside rule but you cannot fault him for effort. He worked hard elsewhere on the pitch too.
Team did well today. That effort on Sunday will be just fine
Spurs in penalty shoot out now. Glad we didn’t have to face that. Not good for the losing team. Would hate to go out on pens
Cologne-toon(Quote)
Spurs going out will make me feel better. Hope benfica go on to win it to be fair.
Newkie(Quote)
Kim it’s up to you but I think your beating your head against a brickwall so ignore or take Batts advice
Batts don’t be a stranger lad as there is little enough light relief on here.
Where is Richie and the Dog ❓
Big Dave(Quote)
Kimtoon I mentioned numerous players in my first post but you are obviously looking to attack me for commenting on cisse.
Why did you not come to Mbiwa’s rescue or Cabaye whom I mentioned in as poor my post? You selectively read Cisse and that was that. Cisse just happened to be in the group of player I named as poor.
Apart from heart and effort today he did lack quality today.
Michael12(Quote)
spurs out
batty(Quote)
Ahh, makes me feel a bit better 😆
Newkie(Quote)
Dave ,Iwas just about to post to Batty , Head ,Bang and brickwall spring to mind 😯 😆 Great minds
KIMTOON(Quote)
Shocking penalty from Adebayor…. 😯
Spuds out
Cologne-toon(Quote)
imagine if we had benny, marv cabaye and sissoko all season 🙄 scary team that
Alex(Quote)
michelle you have turned off pardew and now turned on cisse like the gimp you are ,if you loved ba that much fck off down south and lick his **** crack
batty(Quote)
Yes Batty, and that one wrongly ruled out against the Metalheads of Kharkiv. He’s back to his historical average now.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
🙄 😉
batty(Quote)
Micheal ,Cisse is always first name in the line of fire for you though and often the only name for that matter 🙄 As for the other players you cited ,I thought the whole team did well tonight ,Cabs looked injured still to me but that’s just my opinion. Oh and to compare Mbiwa to Bramble get a grip no ones that bad.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Lee Ryder @lee_ryder 1m
That MICHAEL12
is a right ****** he needs a kick in the bollocks to put his head straight .
batty(Quote)
Batts @ 259 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 how I miss your straight talking, no back doors on you
Big Dave(Quote)
By the way, I suppose it’s hard to remember tonight, but if we hadn’t had the suicidal defensive errors in Portugal, we’d be in the next round.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Gutted we are out.
Few players need a mention Ben Arfa and Marveoux changed the game both looked class every time they touched the ball. Jonas was good but again looked better at left back than left midfield. Haidara was are best player until he was subbed of imo.
We needed two goals and our team set up to defend for 70 minutes at home! How can no one else be slightly embarrassed by that.
Michael12 you are not allowed an opinion we are fascist’s over here 😀
Santii(Quote)
Thought Pards got it spot on tonight ,we played the long game pressing late on and it so nearly payed off too . Gutted for him and the lads.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Kim save your oxygen 😉 you might need it for your next hot date, and after lastnight I think Andy will be asking you out to dinner 😀
Big Dave(Quote)
fsotc yes with a little bit of luck we could have been through 😉
batty(Quote)
It is a know fact that those losing an argument resort to pejorative or giving attributes that cannot possibly be measured such as heart, spirit, passion, desire, determination and other immeasurable attributes because they cannot be measured.
Sorry if it offends you but I maintain my observations that while Cisse had heart, never gave up, he was poor overall today.
Michael12(Quote)
Santi ,we were beset with injuries facing a better team and 3.1 down what else could Pards do ? I thought he got it spot on tbh.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Michael, what you just said is fair, but the known facts are these:
Cisse now has (including one game with Senegal):
6 goals in his last 10 games
9 in his last 20
8 in the 18 since Ba split town
and has scored in the last three in a row.
Of course he (or anyone) is not above criticism, but, as Toonsy was writing the other day, the striker that scores every single chance he gets has not been of woman born.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
excellent effort. we nearly pulled it off. If it wasnt for a poor back-pass and a stupid handball we’d be tru. Benfica are the better team but we had them against the ropes for a good period and we cannot ask for more.
mark(Quote)
Micheal ,you don’t offend me ,you make me laugh tbh.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Yep, Batty, a little luck and a little more experience/wisdom from poor old Santon and a little less brainfarting from Saylor on the handball.
Ah well. Here’s to smashing Sunderland on Sunday. With Benny & Marv available, boy, it could be tasty.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Fans @272 ,Exactly.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Guys, stop feeding the troll. Michael12 only comes on here to troll. Waste of time arguing with him/her and only boils your **** at his/her idiocy. Just ignore.
griff(Quote)
Right I’m off laters .
KIMTOON(Quote)
@Fans who own the club: those are good facts and a good point. I concede to that.
But tonight he was poor despite the goal. My saying tonight he was poor does not mean I claimed he is a bad player.
Michael12(Quote)
Cisse did ok. was a bit wasteful with a couple of heavy touched and was offside a few times. Wasnt his best game but he’s always got a goal in him.
mark(Quote)
Michael12
Cisse isnt a bad player. how can u say that.
mark(Quote)
Griff, please tell me you are Professor Griff from Public Enemy!
So long, sister Kim.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
@Mark
“offside a few times”
Understatement of the week 😀
Santii(Quote)
Griff @ 277 spot on, I think there is a couple of others that come on here try to be different in an attempt to be different and get attention.
Kim take it easy
Big Dave(Quote)
be different in an attempt to be different…
so thats double the difference? they do that alot in tescos
😛
mark(Quote)
Michael, I know what you mean. We all get entrenched in opinions sometimes and we all speak imprecisely or are interpreted incorrectly sometimes.
Every player makes mistakes. How many mistakes is a player allowed in a game before he gets on the hook for serious criticism and questioning.
I thought Mbiwa had a couple of wobbly moments (though I didn’t see the whole game) and I don’t see much aimed at him. I’m not writing the kid off though. It’s still early days for him and he’s very young.
I also thought Cabaye had an off night. He’s got a stash of credit from good games to place that against.
When does Cisse or Jonas or any player start accruing that credit? Jonas has played very well in our last two games, it seems, but he is a favorite target. Same with Willo.
Kind of mysterious the way our opinions get formed and ossified, I guess.
Would so love to sit here and chat game-talk, but I have actual work to do and you folks are probably all off to bed anyway. Guess I’ll check in here and there later.
So long, brethren & sistren.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Just Dr Griff at the moment actually but I aspire to Professor Griff one day 😉
griff(Quote)
The leg was lost in the first game, with our horrendous mistakes, and missed chances / woodwork shots..
Tremendous second half effort by the toon today, we would have battered them with a decent second striker in the team i.e. Ba, and a fully fit HBA. Relying on the inconsistent Cisse has costs us a lot this season. We need to address this issue in the close season.
Absolutely gutted to be out of the europa league, on another day we could have beaten Benfica.
Munich Mag(Quote)
Lol. Inconsistent Cisse is scoring regularly now isn’t he?
You really never did get over Ba wanting to leave, did you?
Pootle(Quote)
Unlucky tonight.
Looked like Pardew got it right tactically – although they could have been 4 up before we got going.
I didn’t really expect us to go through but having seen our 2nd half performance I’m more dissapointed than I thought I would be as we created enough pressure and enough chances to have scored the second.
However I would very much like to see the team that finished (except Taylor for Williamson and Debuchy for Simpson) start on Sunday as I thought we looked very dangerous going forward. We’ll give the Mackems a rest good going over!!!
Stuart79(Quote)
Have to say I caught snatches of it in the pub as it was Spurs dominated.
My opinion however..is this…
So proud. We started against a team who doesn’t lose, who had a 2 goal advantage, with young lads like Haidara and Bigi. We played Willo who has not seen a proper game of football in months. We kept a clean sheet up until the last breath, whilst we were throwing the kitchen sink at them.
I won’t be dissecting who did what and who didn’t do enough for us to go through, what a performance from those boys tonight, always special at st James and with a different night and a striker who knows the offside rule, or a fit/sharper benny, we’d have done it.
Also, been critical of marveux in the past, never thought he got started through injuries but I can honestly say I haven’t seen a player in our shirt who can deliver the right cross and create chances like him since Solano, despite his lack of tracking back.
Moreno(Quote)
MM,
Just read your post as it happened to be close after re-reading mine and hear hear mate. Great minds and all that 😉
Moreno(Quote)
Pootle my old **** sparrow, you’re like a stuck record… 🙂
I don’t give a flying flock about Ba to be honest, because he doesn’t play for the toon. However……..as I mentioned in my post….if we had a second striker in the side we wouldn’t be in the ***** at the bottom of the league, and we MAY have beaten Benfica today.
Of course Cisse is scoring because he is our only striker. However, the guy is inconsistent in front of goal, and strays offside too much.
Munich Mag(Quote)
Stuart79@290. Spot on, I have the same opinion. The difference between the toon first half and second half was immense. What a huge reserve and self belief the team has, cos we were chasing shadows in the first half and looked like we were clueless in the final third.
Absolutely GUTTED to be out by the way.
Munich Mag(Quote)
Proud of the lads, have their all and that’s all we can ask. Hopefully their is still petrol in the tank for Sunday HWTL 😀
Andymag(Quote)
“Of course Cisse is scoring because he is our only striker. However, the guy is inconsistent in front of goal, and strays offside too much.”
Funny. I thought he’d been scoring quite consistently recently. Which is a good thing surely?
Pootle(Quote)
Pootle, are you another one who cannot get there head around the fact that someone can score goals regularly but still be inconsistent in front of goal and stray offside too much. ? The words aren’t too difficult 🙂 😉
I reiterate this just for Pootle…… I think with a decent second stiker we wouldn’t be struggling at the bottom of the league, and MAY have beaten Benfica over two legs.
Munich Mag(Quote)
Graham Carr was quoted as saying that it might take Marv 18 months or so to settle before showing what he can do… looks like the big man might have been right (again 😎 )
M(Quote)
Disappointed that we are out of the competition 😕 At least we bowed out with some dignity and took it up to Benfica.
I see the old Cisse arguments are still ongoing 😕 Oba Martins was inconsistent if you want to look at inconsistent strikers 😆
Cisse – well some Toon fans need something to ***** about
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Pootle – You may aswell go and find a brick wall to smash your head against it.
A 1 in 2 striker is not good enough for us seemingly. We need a 1 in 1 striker who never gets caught offside and also creates bags of chances for everyone even though we have no other goalscorer at the moment 🙄
What are peoples views on that Benteke at Villa? Would people have him here if Villa go down? What do you make of him MM?
toonsy(Quote)