Magpies booed off as Canaries snatch draw

Newcastle 2 Norwich 2

As chairman Freddy Shepherd and manager Bobby Robson attempted to recruit one of Europe’s most exciting prospects in a bid to compete with the best, their existing players were struggling to match Premiership newcomers Norwich.

The Magpies were booed off after surrendering a 2-0 lead on the fifth anniversary of the night Ruud Gullit dropped Alan Shearer and effectively signed his own death warrant when local rivals Sunderland came to Toon and left with a 2-1 win.

Craig Bellamy and Aaron Hughes had put the Magpies in the driving seat by the 50th minute, but the performance was never convincing.

Shay Given let David Bentley’s 52nd-minute effort slip through his hands but the United rearguard was at sixes and sevens 17 minutes from time as Norwich new boy Gary Doherty claimed a point from close-range.

Kieron Dyer’s beef with Robson is that he is rarely allowed to play in the central midfielder role he prefers.

Last night he got the chance because of an injury to Jermaine Jenas, but was anonymous for much of the game.

Newcastle lacked the organisation of their opponents and failed to make the most of their weaponry. Laurent Robert was threatening early on before becoming becalmed in the morass of an indifferent team display.

Indeed, had Bellamy not, with the help of a couple of deflections, fired home a 40th-minute opener after Shearer had headed down Stephen Carr’s cross at the back post, the Magpies might have left the pitch at half-time to the sound of anything but the reserved applause they did.

And had it not been for the wastefulness of a former Magpie, they could have trudged off at the break having seen their defences pierced once again. Slips by Olivier Bernard and Andy O’Brien with 17 minutes gone allowed the fleet-footed Darren Huckerby in on Given’s goal, but he smashed his shot wide of the post.

Other than that, there were few chances for the visitors and only marginally more for the home side. Shearer powered a header just wide from a Nicky Butt cross 10 minutes before half time and the former Manchester United midfielder saw a late effort deflected away for a corner.

In the second half, United doubled their advantage when Robert’s perfectly-weighted corner enabled Hughes to pull away from his marker and send a downward header into the back of the net.

But the scoreline remained at 2-0 for only a matter of seconds as the impressive Bentley cut inside and unleashed a 25-yard drive which Given looked to have covered but allowed to squirm out of his grasp.

Bellamy then had a glorious opportunity to claim his second goal of the night after Carr and Shearer combined to put him in on goal, but his shot across goalkeeper Robert Green ran just wide of the far post.

United were finally flexing their muscles and defender Marc Edworthy had to clear a 62nd-minute Shearer header off the line.

But Norwich too were threatening on a more regular basis and Doherty was unfortunate to see a firm header fly just over from a 65th-minute Bentley corner. The force, however, was very much with the improving home side, and Green’s goal started to live a charmed life.

Shearer was just muscled off Bellamy’s cross at the far post by Edworthy and then the same defender cleared a Shearer header off the line.

But just when Newcastle appeared to be on the verge of killing off the game, Norwich hit back.

Given and Bernard kept them in front when substitute Mattias Jonson got his head to Damien Francis knock-back across goal. From the resulting corner, Given blocked Craig Fleming’s effort but Doherty slammed home the rebound.

United huffed and puffed as the clock ran down, but apart from substitute Lee Bowyer’s injury-time effort, which forced a good save from Green, did not look like snatching back a victory they scarcely deserved.

NEWCASTLE: Given, Carr, Hughes, O’Brien, Bernard, Milner (Ameobi 75), Dyer (Bowyer 84), Butt, Robert, Bellamy, Shearer.

NORWICH: Drury, McVeigh (Jonson 67), Francis, Holt, Bentley (McKenzie 71), Huckerby, Doherty.

Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).