When my beloved Carlisle United revealed they had scheduled a pre-season friendly against Premiership side Newcastle, I knew I had to be there. I live in Newcastle these days, so I called round the lads and managed to find 3 willing to accompany me.
At 9:30am on the morning of Saturday the 21st of July, myself, Kenzy, Dolo and Waggsy arrived at the train station and began the 1.5 hour trip to Carlisle. We knew a big crowd was expected with around 3000 travelling from Newcastle and this was evident when there was a queue to board the trains, with some people simply unable to cram on.
The journey over set the tone for the day when some charv Newcastle lass told tales of being expelled 3 times from school – once for flushing someone’s head down the toilet and kicking the cubicle on top of them – such a lovely person. She then discussed calling the headmaster “Penfold” from Dangermouse and laughing at him. Fortunately for the other 3 they had fallen asleep – I unfortunately had not and was forced to listen to this annoying bint.
After her school exploits, she moved onto a big discussion regarding the recent takeover of Newcastle United by Mike Ashley. Following Ashley’s decision to remove NUFC from the London Stock exchange, the shares held by fans were left worthless. This lady (I use the term loosely) spent 40 minutes talking about how much the shares would have been worth had Newcastle won the Premiership or Champions League – get over it love, they are nothing more than a top 10 side now. Anyway, the conversation about whether to sell the shares to Ashley took us from Hexham to virtually the outskirts of Carlisle – enthralling.
As we pulled into Carlisle station, the conversation changed to the BNP march taking place in Carlisle that day – at which point someone declared “I may join in”. The station was rife with Police and we were marched out like Jews on their way to slaughter. We found a local watering hole and sunk a few beers before heading towards the ground. The walk to the ground proved entertaining in itself – the Police were stopping me taking the normal route, so instead we had to make our way (unconvincingly) through the housing estates. It looked like a scene from Football Factory as we walked through the back streets, with me assuring the lads we weren’t lost.
When we arrived at the ground it was a relief. Kenz and I stopped for a baguette in a local shop and, I think it's fair to say, we all fell in love with the lass serving us – gorgeous! After a quick munch, we met up with my parents for a pint and to get the tickets.
2 Captains Back-to-Back |
The match itself was a good laugh despite the persistent rain. The banter between the fans was amusing, with chants such as “One Crystal Maze” and “One Uncle Festa” aimed at a bald chap, whilst a bemused spectacled man was on the end of “One Harry Potter” chants. When a tanned charv decided to give some stick, he was faced with “One Dale Winton” chants, which turned his orange glow into a more reddy colour. It was good to see a strong Newcastle side play and, despite having more possession, we were not overawed by them. The first half was mainly all Newcastle, but their good passing play resulted in very few shots on goal.
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson Shows his Skills |
The 2nd half was much more free flowing and, in the 56th minute, a floated cross from Marc Bridge-Wilkinson saw Danny Livesey leap the highest to head past Steve Harper. After this, Carlisle took control and created a few more chances. Various substitutions occurred which broke up the play and it wasn’t until the 80th minute that another chance came. Danny Livesey thought he had scored again, poking in from close range, only to be ruled offside.
Newcastle pushed towards the end and, in the 91st minute, Nolberto Solano controlled a crossfield ball and smashed it into the roof of the net to level the scores. A draw was probably a fair result and that’s the way it ended. Whilst it was just a friendly, it was a good insight into how things are shaping up a few weeks before the start of the season. On this evidence, Carlisle look decent and played some lovely passing football at times, however, a striker and another defender are still required to strengthen further. Newcastle desperately missed Viduka and Owen and will be reeling from the news that £5 million summer signing Joey Barton is out for 6 weeks with a broken foot. It looks like another long season for the Toon Army.
Big Leap from Danny Carlton |
After leaving the ground we headed back to town for a few more drinks. One of the lads had to show his Police badge to get us into one pub, with the Bouncers hearing our North East accents and asking us to drink elsewhere. After a few pints and some scran we headed for the train at 19:33pm. It was not until 8pm that the train left, with several Newcastle fans arrested for fighting. Then someone pulled the emergency stop cord which left us stranded for another hour – finally arriving back to Newcastle at 10pm.
It was a good day and it didn’t end there – we partied on till the early hours and, as I type, my hangover is just subsiding. A good trip out and a good match which gives positive signs for the season ahead.
The teams for today:
Carlisle United: Westwood, Raven, Livesey, Murphy (Kirkup 64), Aranalde (Lumsdon 60), Gall (Carlton 60), Bridge-Wilkinson (McDermott 60), Thirlwell (Arnison 60), Smith (Joyce 76), Hackney (Dalton 81), Graham. Subs - Howarth.
Newcastle United: Harper (Krul 82), Carr (Bertram 82), Rozenhal (Huntington 62), Barton (Lough 66), Dyer (Troisi 76), Martins (Lua Lua 76), N'Zogbia, Solano, Butt (Geremi 61), Ramage (Francis 82), Carroll. Subs - Milner, Forster.
