City beat Newcastle at Maine Road
Saturday, 24 August 2002 14:52Kevin Keegan celebrated his first three points back in the Premiership when his Manchester City side deservedly beat Newcastle 1-0 at Maine Road this afternoon. Darren Huckerby was the hero after he put the home side ahead in the first half. The former Newcastle player missed a host of chances but he made amends when he finally put one away to give City the lead.
The scoreline fails to represent City's domination of this clash as Keegan's team were at times breathtaking against their illustrious opponents. City suffered a disappointing defeat to Leeds United on the opening day of the season but Keegan's target of a top-six finish seems somewhat less idealistic after this afternoon's impressive performance.
At times in the first-half, Keegan must have been tearing out his hair in frustration at Huckerby's failure to convert even one of his numerous scoring opportunities but eight minutes from the break, he finally netted when Shay Given's save from Niclas Jensen's blistering low drive looped upwards and Jermaine Jenas failed to clear properly, allowing Huckerby to leap up and nod the ball home.
It was only thanks to Given and defender Nikos Dabizas that Newcastle didn't concede a barrage of goals. Despite the fact that they were a goal down, Newcastle failed to up the tempo when they came out for the second half and found themselves pushed back towards their own goal as City searched to extend their lead. However, as the game headed towards the final whistle, Newcastle did press forward and Peter Schmeichel produced a stunning save from Kieron Dyer to protect City's slim lead and their first win of the new season was secure.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
