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Krul puts in a goalkeeping master class to shut out Spurs
Before the start of the game, all the talk was about the absence of Hugo Lloris, but after the match all the column inches will be devoted to Tim Krul and rightly so as the Dutchman put in a goal keeping master class to keep out wave after wave of Tottenham attack. The 25-year-old Dutchman made full use of arms, legs and almost every part of his body to keep out the 14 shots that he eventually ended up saving.
Arguably the pick of the bunch was his triple save in the second half. Having kept out a brilliant free-kick from Sigurdsson, he saved the rebound from Y Kaboul, not just once, but twice, when it looked as if the central defender was all set to score. Krul had one of those days where he could do no wrong and saved everything that came his way and went a long way towards helping his side to their second successive win in the League.
Cabaye seems to have finally put his summer woes behind him
Throughout the summer, Cabaye looked like a man who wanted out of Newcastle United. He almost got his wish, but in the end, Pardew made sure that he stayed and that was worked out very well for him so far. Behind Krul, Cabaye was arguably the second-best player on the park as the central midfielder looked sharp with both his passing and tackling.
Whilst Krul and Remy will get all the plaudits for their heroics at either end of the pitch, it was the Frenchman who ran the show, especially in the first half. Some of his passing was utterly exquisite and whether it was short side wards pass or a long diagonal, Cabaye was up for it and he found his man more often that. Pardew will be hoping that the Frenchman keeps his good run going and will be looking to build the side around the metronomic midfield maestro.
Pardew get his tactics spot on once again
After last weekend’s heroics at home against Chelsea, the spotlight was on Pardew as he traveled to White Hart Lane knowing that his side will come up against a staunch Spurs back-line. He started with an unchanged lineup and went in with just two in central midfield. Some feared that they might get overrun in the middle of the park, but the exact opposite happened as Newcastle started brightly and pressed high up the pitch.
Both central midfielders put in a good shift, but Pardew would be particularly pleased with his defense, which was as solid as a rock and stood firm, even after Spurs almost camped in the Newcastle half as the game wore on. The two wide players, Gouffran and Sissoko tracked back diligently and ensured that nothing came from the marauding runs of both of Spurs’s adventurous fullbacks. Newcastle simply soaked up the pressure and scored with a sucker punch and Pardew was spot on with his tactics for the second successive week as his side gave no space for Spurs to conjure any meaningful attack.
Spurs struggling for goals and look clueless in attack..
Another game has passed and even more pressure is heaped on AVB as his expensively assembled attack failed to deliver yet again. After their lackluster performance against the Magpies, Spurs only have nine goals to show for their efforts after 11 games. Only the bottom three, have scored fewer goals than Spurs and that is certainly looking like a worrying trend for Spurs as they look to challenge for the title, if not, for at least a Champions League spot.
Soldado looked isolated up front and for large chunks of the first half, although Spurs enjoyed plenty of the ball, they didn’t manage to do too much with it. Spurs enjoyed the lion’s share of possession the second half as well and were almost camped in the Newcastle half, but unfortunately for them, they came up against a goal keeper who played the game of his life and thus were unable to add to their goal tally. Their best effort was when Vertonghen hit the bar late in the game from a corner and although the performance was good, the lack of goals is a worry for AVB.
.. whilst Newcastle looked lethal with the reliable Remy up front
In the build-up to the game, all the talk was about whether Newcastle could breach the Tottenham back-line which had already managed to keep seven clean sheets in their opening 10 games. Thankfully for the Magpies, in Remy they had a striker who was banging in the goals for fun and it was he who scored the goal who settled the tie early in the first half after Gouffran slipped him through with a perfect slide-rule pass.
The goal was Remy’s seventh in seven games and his 13th in the Premier League for both QPR and Newcastle in just 23 games. After the goal, Newcastle could have and should have, at least added to their tally before the break, but they didn’t and thankfully for them, it didn’t cost them in the end. Remy’s goal was the 15th goal scored by Newcastle this season and 14 of them have been scored by Frenchmen with the sole exception being Paul Dummett, who scored against Liverpool. In 2013, no Englishman has scored for the Magpies, but as long as the goals keeping flying in, Pardew couldn’t care less about whom it comes from.
