United's fitting tribute to legend Crowe
CHARLIE Crowe was warmly remembered before kick off.
And if Newcastle United's legendary FA Cup winner was looking down from the heavens, he would have enjoyed what followed the minute's applause for himself and the late Keith Alexander.
It's taken a while, maybe too long, but Newcastle have found their swagger.
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And on this evidence, it's the swagger of champions.
For much of the season, Chris Hughton's side's football has been functional rather than free-flowing.
They've been more committed than creative, not least at St James's Park, where fans, recalling the swashbuckling promotion of 1992-93, had been hoping for a glimpse of the attacking style they'd not seen since the days of Sir Bobby Robson.
However, a devastating run of four home games – devastating for United's rivals, that is – has yielded 18 goals, and seen the club put one foot in the Premier League.
First it was Cardiff City, who were blown away 5-1 with ease. Then Coventry City and Preston North End were swiftly dealt with on home turf.
And on Saturday, it was Barnsley's turn in front of another huge gate of 44,464, which included almost 3,000 from South Yorkshire, though the away end emptied well before the final whistle.
Admittedly, the first half wasn't up to much.
Chances were few and far between, and the sight of Jose Enrique limping off 33 minutes into his comeback from a month-long spell on the sidelines didn't bode well for Newcastle.
And Barnsley – who had given as good as they had got in December's 2-2 draw at Oakwell – will have fancied getting something from the game until Luke Steele's unfortunate intervention late in the half.
Lovenkrands went to ground as Steele slid in at his feet, and while there was no contact, referee Grant Hegley pointed to the spot and dismissed the goalkeeper amid furious protests from the visitors.
The penalty was converted by Lovenkrands, and from then on in it was one-way traffic, United seizing the game by the scruff of the neck after the break and banging in another five goals.
Another went to Lovenkrands, Danny Guthrie, enjoying his return to central midfield in the absence through injury of captain Alan Smith, struck twice, and stand-in skipper Kevin Nolan notched his 13th of the season.
However, this game will always be remembered for Jonas Gutierrez's strike, or more specifically his celebration. The winger drifted in from the left and lashed an unstoppable shot in off the crossbar with his favoured right foot.
The Spider-man mask, which has been tucked away in his shorts for many of his 64 games for the club, came out, and St James's Park rose as one to celebrate.
Gutierrez – who chose not to don the mask when he opened his account earlier in the season – has taken plenty of pot shots at goal since arriving from Real Mallorca, but most have ended up nearer row Z than the back of the net.
This, however, was an afternoon when just about everything went right, bar Enrique's injury, though Hughton, typically, wasn't entirely satisfied with his team's efforts, and his frustration at Barnsley late goal, scored by Daniel Bogdanovic after an error from Danny Simpson, was palpable after the game.
Had Newcastle kept a clean sheet, the scoreline would have mirrored a convincing home win over the same opponents late in their last promotion campaign.
Back then, United went up as champions, and the class of 2010 look set to do the same.
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Weather for South Shields
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 8 C to 19 C
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