Monday Afternoon Football in the US. Amazingly, I have lunch plans at a pub that will just happen to be showing this match.... Gibson out for up to 3 weeks: http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/2012/09/14/gibson-to-miss-newcastle The Club's preview: http://www.evertonfc.com/match/report/1213/everton-v-newcastle-united My not-so-informed prediction: Everton 3-1 Newcastle. Jela, Pienaar and Fellaini all find the net.
this is on monday? sweet that means I can go to the pub as well to watch! Newcastle has put together a strong team in the past couple of years... it won't be easy :/
15 mins in - Leighton Baines!!! beautiful goal & finish - Blues had dominated possession - nice to see it pay off
38th minute - Blues dominating possession, but Newcastle getting too many chances that are a result of poor defending / lack of effort - COYB, you're playing with fire here!
44th minute, Jela out injured (there goes my goal prediction for him) - Anichebe in for him. Blues are clearly dominating, but still lead only 1-0 - and our defending feels fragile, like we're holding our collective breath that somehow, someway, Newcastle won't score on one of their opportunities....
Just watching highlights of 1st half - Everton should have 3 goals, and, honestly, Newcastle should have 2. COYB!
73rd minute - feels like we're just trying to see the game out, and we're still tied 1-1. If I were just coming onto this game and hadn't seen the 1st half, I'd have no real clue how dominant the Blues had been earlier in the match. Of course, I'm a referee as well, so generally I don't have a clue anyway.
80th min - we scored, but linesman didn't see it cross, so no goal!!!! Then the ref rescued us with a yellow while Newcastle had a breakaway.......unlucky, then lucky.....seems like the day so far.
This is why we need goal line tech. The FA, UEFA, and FIFA have never been proactive by any stretch, but this is the time to implement it, before not having it costs someone a title...
Final 2-2. Thoroughly disappointing. Everton dominated early possession, clearly (to my befuddled mind) had two goals not counted - and by not putting it away early when opportunities were there let Newcastle stay around and steal a point. We MUST, in spite of refs or karma or whatever, learn to put away these opponents if we want to have serious aspirations this year.
unfortunately, goal line tech would only have given us vic's goal... felli's was judged offside... it was very close, but the replay/added lines on the pitch on tv showed it to be onside... oh well.. win some lose some, get screwed by the ref some... :S
oh and between the 35-th and 40th mins, we had only 32% possession... that's not dominating... I didn't see the first 30 mins, but from then on we were utterly terrible. couldn't keep simple passes to blues etc. all around a tough game to watch when i know we can play so much better... peanut, felli, ossie and a few others had really really off games... just didn't seem connected. and putting vic on for jela when we had naisy and coleman and gueye on the bench? I'm not sure I agreed with that. ....... oh well...
Pure class at Goodison Park with their tribute prior to the match and last week. Walk on. The Toffees were robbed during the match.
I felt bad for Everton last night but I also have (some) sympathy for the linesman who got the two decisions wrong, as Gary Neville explained post-match both of incidents were difficult to call, the offside for the disallowed goal was so close and happened so fast that the defender had probably moved up by the time the lino had looked down the line... he was just very unlucky that two such incidents happened in one game/half. Goal line technology is long since overdue but I also believe that football needs a challenge system like in Tennis, I believe it would work very well but the technophobes in charge of football won't allow it.
you're right on the offside being so quick. I'm hesitant on challenges to the refs decision, or it could turn into american football... although, say we get 2 challenges a game and no more - even one challenge - it would have been very useful on that fateful derby jack rodwell red card... I've often said, we've seen instant replays of incidents several times before the ref has sorted out what he thinks happened and carded whoever needs carding. if the 4th official had a small tv which only replayed if he received a challenge, it wouldn't slow it down much... Then again... it's football to have some human error and I do (sometimes ) like that about it. However, I'm all for goal line tech. I've been saying yes for years... The eye at wimbledon is instantaneous and doesn't cause much issue... I see tech saying a ball crossed the line, but the ref can still call it back for offside, handball, obstructing keeper etc. Here's hoping it really does come soon!
Thanks for stopping by, YNWA Now we just need justice for those who passed on after the deadline came and went (people who were in a coma from the match and passed 2 weeks later etc). and the sun to be banned...
At the end of the day, even though the linesman got both calls wrong ... we have to put away a game when we score late like that. Goodison seemed like it was shaking from the excitement, you just can't give up a goal at that point.