Relief for Ritchie as Toon end their jinx
MATT RITCHIE was alone, just three yards out, in front of the Cricket Field Stand. The ball was spinning his way at a comfortable speed and there was — surely — only going to be one outcome. Here was the moment Newcastle’s fans had been waiting for. All those miserable Mondays were about to be banished and the next word out of their mouths was going to be ‘Goal!’. They knew it, Ritchie knew, Rafa Benitez knew it. Somehow, though, Ritchie hit the side-netting.
How could he miss? Well, Newcastle never do things easily, not even when they are firmly in control of matters. Why make things comfortable when there is drama to eke out of a situation? This, perhaps, is how it must be with a club once labelled The Entertainers.
It was hard to tell if Benitez was entertained. ‘I need to see the replay because I couldn’t believe it,’ he said. ‘I will watch the replay and maybe we can have a laugh after the victory. If not, we’ll be talking with Ritchie seriously.’
Fortunately for Ritchie ‘ The Miss’ did not matter. For the first time since December 2012, Newcastle were successful on a Monday night and there was no denying they were full value for three points, extending their winning run to a third game.
‘These months are crucial,’ added Benitez. ‘We have teams that are close to us and if we do everything right, as we are expecting, maybe we go to January and we have some points advantage.’
Kick- off was delayed after Eddie Wolstenholme, a former Premier League official, suffered a suspected heart attack. The 64-year- old, who was at Turf Moor as a referee’s assessor, was attended to by medical staff from both clubs before being taken to hospital. According to Burnley’s Twitter feed, Wolstenholme was conscious when he left the stadium.
When the action began, Newcastle flew out of the blocks. You had to go back to Loic Remy at Goodison Park on September 30, 2013, to find the last Newcastle player to score on a Monday evening in front of the television cameras. But within four minutes they had made a mockery of all those barren statistics.
There was an element of luck but nobody in black and white was complaining. When Federico Fernandez stepped inside after picking up a loose ball, his only intention was to shoot. Crucially, it took a deflection off Ben Mee and looped into the top corner.
There should have been no way back after Newcastle’s second came in the 24th minute. A short corner on the right saw Ritchie and Ki Sung- yueng exchange passes before Ritchie whipped a ball into the area that demanded a finish be applied. Captain Ciaran Clark did the rest, glancing his header beyond Hart. No pressure was put on Ritchie as he looked up to pick out a target, while Clark was able to ghost in front of Mee without anyone attempting to unsettle him. If this continues, Burnley will be in big trouble come spring.
To give them some credit, Burnley didn’t look as though they just wanted to accept the result and for the final 15 minutes of the first period, there was a response and, significantly, a goal — a looping header from Sam Vokes after Mee had hoisted a 40-yard ball forward.
A second might have arrived on the stroke of half-time, too. This time Vokes was the provider, his cushioned header enabled Chris Wood to thrash a left- foot drive but Martin Dubravka was equal to the task and pushed the drive away.
Wood had another shot in the second half but it would have been a travesty if Burnley had taken a point. Ritchie should have seen to it that they were dead and buried, while substitute Joselu cracked a drive against the post. For once, however, it never mattered. BURNLEY (4-4-2): Hart 5; Lowton 6, Long 5, Mee 5, Taylor 6; Lennon 5.5, Cork 5, Defour 5 (Hendrick 83min), Brady 5 (Barnes 83); Vokes 7, Wood 6.
Subs not used: Heaton, Gibson, Westwood, Bardsley, Vydra. Scorer: Vokes 40. Booked: None. Manager: Sean Dyche 5 .
NEWCASTLE UNITED (3-4-3): Dubravka 7; Schar 6, Fernandez 7, Clark 7; Yedlin 7, Diame 7, KI 8, Ritchie 7; Kenedy 7 (Hayden 90), Rondon 6 (Joselu 71, 6), Perez 6 . Subs not used: Woodman, Murphy, Shelvey, Manquillo, Atsu. Scorers: Mee 4 og, Clark 23. Booked: Ritchie. Manager: Rafa Benitez 7. Referee: Anthony Taylor 7. Attendance: 20,628.