Season 2009-2010 – Match 46
Date: Sunday 2nd May 2010
Kick-off: 1:00pm (BST)
Venue: Loftus Road
Attendance: 16,819
Referee: Carl Boyeson (Humberside)
Teams:
QPR: Cerny, Leigertwood, Ramage, Gorkss, Tosic, Ephraim (Rose 77), Faurlin, Buzsaky, Cook (Parker 49), Simpson, Priskin
Subs Not Used: Putnins, Balanta, Brown, Oastler, German
Booked: None
Sent Off: Ramage (46)
Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Coloccini, Williamson, Ryan Taylor, Routledge, Barton, Smith, Guthrie (Vuckic 79),Best (Lovenkrands 54), Ameobi (Carroll 79).
Subs Not Used: Harper, Nolan, Pancrate, Donaldson
Booked: Williamson, Ryan Taylor
Goal: Lovenkrands 71
Newcastle manager Chris Hughton said after the game:
“What I was able to do was move things round a bit and I was able to give Vuckic an outing as well. I did want to wait until we were winning the game, because it was important that we won it. It was nice to give him the opportunity, and we’ll be seeing a bit more of him next season. It was a very good finish from Peter, and it sums up how he’s been for us this season. It came at a time when the game was opening up a bit. I think it was ideal for him. Once it opened up, we thought we could exploit a bit of the space, and of course Peter has been very good at this season. It feels great (to reach the 100 point mark). It was the least of our targets but an important one. We’ve achieved our three big targets – promotion, then winning the title and keeping our home record. But we have a very competitive changing room and it will be wonderful for this group of lads to look back on. It might be a different division to what this club is used to being in but it’s a very big achievement. It’s a big club and a club that is used to being in the Premier League, but a good percentage of our supporters realise where we have been and it has to be about growing and developing as a team and as a club again. So expectations maybe won’t be as big as they have been in the past. At this time we are enjoying being where we are. The big aim is to become a consistent member of the Premier League. You can be encouraged by what Birmingham and Wolves have done this season. The big thing is going up and staying up. I do think we need to bring players in but I don’t see wholesale changes.”
QPR manager Neil Warnock has this to say:
“It showed me what one or two lads are like in adversity, but there was a lot of pluses. Their goalkeeper has pulled off a few good saves and it was a good experience for us. I thought that we were not overawed and played some good football. The difference between us and Newcastle was that we brought on two kids as substitutes and they brought on Andy Carroll and Peter Lovenkrands. It was a great atmosphere though and we want that every week here. The only way that you get that though is to be up near the top of the league right from the start next season.”
Report:
A second half goal from substitute Peter Lovenkrands meant Newcastle United finished off their title-winning season with a victory over QPR at Loftus Road.
The victory also confirmed Newcastle broke the 100 points barrier for the first time in their history and became only the third team in the Championship’s history to do so.
Torrential rain had hit London for the 24 hours prior to the game (who says its better weather down South!?!) and continued during, which contributed to the fact that the first-half was rather a forgettable experience, a classic end of season encounter, with both sides creating few chances or stringing many decent passages of play together.
15 seconds into the second half and the game came to life when former Magpie defender Peter Ramage was sent off for a trip on Shola Ameobi. However, it wasn’t Newcastle who were initially sparked into life. On 56 minutes Tamas Priskin had a goal correctly ruled out for off-side for QPR.
The match winner for Newcastle came in the 71st minute. Joey Barton played Lovenkrands in through on goal with a lovely ball and the Dane nonchalantly chipped the ball over QPR goalkeeper Radek Cerny for his 16th goal of the season.
After the game Chris Hughton and his players celebrated once again in front of the massed ranks of the travelling Toon Army, as the season finished on a victories note with most of the players throwing their shirts into the crowd as souvenirs.
Once again thanks to www.nufcradio.tk for providing live BBC Radio Newcastle commentary of this non TV game and for all their coverage this season.
Andrew McTernan – Row ‘S’ Army
