ZO RELIEVED BY
STEVE McCLAREN left Tyneside empty-handed again, but with words of sympathy for successor Rafa Benitez in the latest boardroom battle with owner Mike Ashley.
The former Toon boss was desperate for a result which would disrupt Newcastle’s charge back to the Premier League.
But for a shocking miss from Tom Ince, and a late Darren Bent header cleared off the line, McClaren could have upset his old employers.
Instead a deflected Matt Ritchie goal took Newcastle back to the Championship summit and six points clear of third place.
McClaren has no doubts Benitez’s side will go up as champions.
But after the Spaniard failed to make a transfer window signing, the Derby boss also knows the topflight return will not be straightforward .
Mc C l a r e n said: “I will have a glass of wine and a good conversation. It will be very private but interesting.
“Please don’t take me back. I have enough problems trying to get the sick, injured and wounded ready for the Premier League champions on Wednesday. My focus is not on Rafa’s problems but Leicester.”
Newcastle won thanks to Ritchie’s 12th of the season, just as anxiety was creeping into St James’ Park, amid the cheers for Rafa.
For nearly 90 minutes, one section of the ground sang the Spaniard’s name in a very loud message aimed at the absent tycoon Ashley.
Ritchie’s shot needed a deflection off Bradley Johnson’s heel to beat Scott Carson, but there was no doubting the quality of the move. Aleksandar Mitrovic played a neat one-two with Mohamed Diame and then quickly found Ritchie, whose shot struck Johnson and looped over Carson.
Benitez was delighted with the support. He said: “They have been amazing with me and I am happy if they continue singing my name because it shows support for the players.
“They realise they can make the difference. They know players will run a bit more if they can feel this support.
“You could feel the atmosphere when we scored and it is a pity we made them suffer because we had so many chances.” And Ince could have made it worse. In front of goal, with the simple task of beating Karl Darlow with a tap- in from Abdoul Camara’s pinpoint cross, he totally missed the target.
In the dying seconds Bent’s header was cleared off the line by DeAndre Yedlin from Ince’s corner. But Newcastle had chances to put the game to bed long before that.
Mitrovic fired wide on the turn from close range and Carson twice saved well from Diame. Ayoze Perez was also denied when a shot was cleared after he had been wiped out by Carson, who could have been dismissed for the challenge.
McClaren said: “We showed them too much respect but I told them we were still in it and we had to have a go.
“I was delighted with that but disappointed with the result.” GIANFRANCO ZOLA replaced boos with booze after finally getting his first win as Birmingham boss.
Afterwards he was asked how he would celebrate the belated win over in-form Fulham after 10 fruitless games since taking charge.
He said: “With a lot of wine and it will be Italian! It is not going to be only one bottle!
“We have been waiting a while for this and we are delighted.
“It was a difficult game against tough opposition as our confidence has not been 100 per cent.
“But we faced the task and came Possession Shots On Target Shots Off Target Blocked Shots Corners Fouls Conceded Offsides Yellow Cards Red Cards 49% 51% 8 2 9 1 2 1 5 5 15 9 0 1 2 1 0 0 up with a good victory after creating a lot of chances. But this was just a little step forward and we have a lot more to make.
“It is just the beginning and we will improve in many aspects.”
Zola paid tribute to his players and in particular to match-winner Lukas Jutkiewicz and recent signing Cheick Keita. He said: