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Newcastle: Given, Barton, Howey, Goma, Hughes (Robinson,
68), Solano (Gavilan, 68), Lee, Speed, Domi, Dyer (Antunes, 80),
Shearer.
Subs not used: Harper, Griffin.
Leicester: Flowers, Sinclair, Taggart, Gilchrist, Impey,
Savage (Zagorakis, 82), Lennon, Oakes (Marshall, 68), Guppy,
Cottee, Elliott.
Subs not used: Arphexad, Walsh, Dudfield.
Attendance: 36,426.
Referee: U Rennie ().
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Newcastle
v Leicester 15/04/00
Newcastle (0) 0 Leicester (1) 2 FT
Cottee
7
Savage
52
Tales of the
Unexpected
Peter Gilbert
15.4.00
April 15th is a date that
is etched in the hearts of all football fans the world over as
a dark day in the history of the beautiful game. It was 11 years
since the Hillsborough disaster and so all games kicked off at
6 mins. past 3 to commemorate the fact that it was at that time
that the game was officially abandoned as the enormity of what
had happened began to sink in. 96 people died a horrible death
in the chaos and the crush.
So we started the game
with a heavy heart but life must go on and football lives on
thankfully and we're all just happy to be still here to enjoy
it.
Such minor niggles as having
to play our best defender as an emergency striker pale into insignificance
on such a day and the absence of Muzzy Izzett with his Turkish
connections also faded somewhat, I just hope his achilles injury
was genuine and not hiding a reluctance to appear before a crowd.
It didn't take long for
City to kick into gear when Impey , not the quickest player in
the world, beat Hughes for speed down the right wing. He
put in an early cross and there was Tony Cottee on the edge of
the box to strike the ball smartly from just inside the box past
a flailing Shay Given and into the back of the net. It
was a great moment and it summed up what the fascination of being
a Leicester City fan is all about; you just never know what they're
going to do next they can frustrate or confound you at any moment,
they can squander chances and lose games they should win and
just when you think it's all over they pop up and get your pulse
racing again.
Actually Newcastle played
well but City matched them in every department except that one
known as winging and wining of which Alan Shearer is surely the
true master.
Steve Guppy had a chance
blocked and from the resulting corner Taggart headed tamely wide.
Newcastle hit the post ,Gilchrist kicked a ball off the line
and Flowers was forced into a couple of good saves.
In the second half City
tried with some success to take the sting out of the game in
a defensive approach but as we all know the best way to achieve
this is to attack and get another goal, which is exactly what
they managed to do.
Stef Oakes played the ball
over the defence and the ever willing Robbie Savage ran onto
the ball took it wide in the box , swivelled and hit a corker
with his right foot which flew into the top corner to put us
2-0 up which as it happens turned out to be the final score and
was revenge for their defeat over us in December.
Today City played with
spirit, guile, purpose and great skill; with Tottenham and Liverpool
coming up in the near future it would be most pleasant to see
them turn those two over and then we will have had a truly satisfactory
season. With Leicester City however you just never know what
they're going to do next.
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