Defiant Souness vows to battle on
Clark’s first goal for his home-town club in almost nine years claimed a point for the Magpies just when it looked as though substitute Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had won it with an 87th-minute strike.
Souness was relieved, despite the boos which greeted the final whistle, and was delighted with what remains of his squad amid an injury crisis which yesterday robbed him of Michael Owen, Emre, Scott Parker, Kieron Dyer, Steven Taylor and Stephen Carr with Lee Bowyer suspended.
“Take six of the best players out of any of the teams above us or below us and they would find it very difficult,” he said. “But we have a group of lads with whom we talk all the time about sticking together, showing we are in it together, and that typified it today.”
Newcastle had taken the lead through Nolberto Solano’s beautiful 27th-minute free-kick, but Boro enjoyed the better of the first half and should have been ahead through Mark Viduka, who fired over from four yards, before having strong penalty appeals for handball by Robbie Elliott turned down.
Aiyegbeni Yakubu levelled eight minutes after the restart, but the Magpies dominated for much of the remainder without making the pressure tell, and Hasselbaink looked to have won it before Clark’s last-ditch intervention.
“We have lost two points today,” said Souness. “We bossed the game for the vast majority of the time.
“When they scored the goal, you start to feel sorry for yourself, but credit to my players because they kept going right to the end. It would have been very hard for them if they had lost.”
Boro boss Steve McClaren was understandably disappointed at the final score, but delighted with the performance.
“It was two points thrown away,” he said. “It’s a cruel game. We were 2-1 up - and I thought deservedly 2-1 up after the performance - and to lose two points like that, it’s certainly testing us.
“But our team today showed fantastic character to play like that.
“I said ‘If we keep going, we will get our rewards’, and we did, but to have it snatched away from us at the end is very cruel.”
The draw left Boro in 16th place in the table, but McClaren is not too concerned.
“There’s only six points between us and eighth and you look at the players coming back. I said before Christmas, I predict a better second half of the season than we have had in the first in the league.
“We have to continue in Europe as we are, but in the league we will have a better second half. A couple of wins can send you well up.”
: Given, Ramage, Bramble, Boumsong, Elliott (Babayaro 45), Solano, Faye, Clark, Ameobi (N’Zogbia 45), Shearer, Luque.
: Schwarzer, Parnaby, Riggott, Southgate, Pogatetz, Morrison, Doriva, Mendieta (Bates 69), Cattermole, Viduka, Yakubu (Hasselbaink 74).
: S Bennett (Kent).
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