NORWICH CITY 2
NEWCASTLE UNITED 1
Pre-Season Friendly
Carrow Road
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Kick-off 3pm

Dan King reports from Carrow Road...

90+2min - And that's it - full time here, and United have been beaten.

90min - There is two minutes of injury time to be played at the end of this game.

89min - Shane Ferguson's cross is perfect for Peter Lovenkrands but his looping header bounces off the bar and it appears that United will be heading home with their first pre-season defeat of the summer.

85min - Krul makes a fine block from Oli Johnson's 20 yard strike and the rebound is scrambled away, before a pitch invader emerges from the Norwich fans, causing play to be stopped temporarily before a drop-ball is given.

80 min - Ameobi's diving header from Routledge's right-wing cross flies just over the bar - had it been on target, it would surely have led to a goal.

75 min - United go straight up the other end through Lovenkrands, who crosses from the left wing, but Xisco's far post header is too close to Ruddy who is able to not only keep it out but hold onto it too.

74 min - NORWICH CITY GOAL (2-1): -Anthony McNamee gets a great cross in down the right and Chris Martin meets it in the centre with a firm header, which appears to deflect off a United defender and squirms past Krul, who may feel he could have kept it out given his earlier heroics.

71min - The attendance is announced as 13,195, just as Faroe Islands midfielder Joan Edmundsson enters the fray in place of Slovenian starlet Haris Vuckic. Edmundsson is wearing number 39 and the blonde-haired youngster is quickly involved, firing over a left-wing cross which nobody can get on the end of it.

68min - Ameobi again shows good feet in the box to wrongfoot a defender before getting his shot away, but this time Ruddy's legs stand firm and he blocks Shola's low shot with his shins.

64min - How are Norwich not in front here? The answer is Tim Krul after a stupendous double-save from the Dutchman. First, after Chris Martin tricks his way into the box, he somehow smothers at the striker's feet before springing to deny Andrew Surman what seems a certain goal. Absolutely fantastic goalkeeping from Krul.

61min - Haris Vuckic twists and turns in the box, just as he did at Carlisle last weekend, but although his curling shot momentarily looks headed for the top corner, it doesn't beat the keeper on this occasion.

56min - Shane Ferguson, the young Northern Irish full-back, replaces Jose Enrique at left back.

55min - Simeon Jackson has a goal correctly ruled out for a clear offside.

50min - Xisco is looking sharp after his loan spell in Spain last season and he tries to slip in Lovenkrands with only a last ditch interception preventing the ball from reaching the Danish ace, who would have been clean through on goal.

46min - NEWCASTLE GOAL (1-1): The changes work to great effect, with Routledge playing in Xisco, who carries the ball and feeds Ameobi for the Geordie striker to turn and finish with the kind of aplomb shown on several occasions last season. It went through keeper Ruddy's legs but a good finish nonetheless.

As predicted, there are a raft of changes at the break. Lovenkrands, Ameobi, Routledge, Smith, Williamson, Xisco and Guthrie are all on; off come Taylor, Ranger, Nolan, Coloccini, Barton, Carroll and Best.

FIRST HALF REPORT

45min - Jose Enrique's left-wing cross has Ruddy scrambling, but it goes just over the top and with no injury time played, the teams head off with United 1-0 down. It's probably a fair reflection as Norwich have been bright while United's experimental side has only shown flashes of their Premier League class so far. But with virtually an entire team of substitutes warming up at the interval, there's likely to be a few changes before the second half begins. 

40min - Almost an immediate response from The Magpies as Nile Ranger has the ball in the back of the net, finishing well after a clever pass from Vuckic, but it's disallowed with replays suggesting that the United forward was offside by the narrowest of margins.

38min - NORWICH CITY GOAL (1-0): Ryan Taylor plays the ball back in the general direction of the defence, but it's underhit and Hoolahan pounces. He nips in, runs at Coloccini and Tavernier and manages to get past them both before squaring across the goal to Chris Martin, who is on his own six yards from goal and can't miss. A poor goal to concede from United's point of view.

34min - Joey Barton's free-kick is whipped into an area that troubles John Ruddy sufficiently enough that he spills it from his grasp, but Nile Ranger is beaten to the loose ball and the chance disappears.

31min - Fabricio Coloccini is lucky not to be booked after a late tackle on Norwich striker Simeon Jackson. The Argentine did well to hold the striker up when City broke after Enrique was robbed upfield, but the lunged in and would surely have gone into the referee's notebook in a league game. As it is, he's just given a ticking off and a free-kick is awarded, which proves fruitless.

24min - Ryan Taylor's deep right-wing cross is met by Andy Carroll in the box, but he has to generate all the power in the header himself and even somebody with his aerial ability can't get enough behind it to seriously test Norwich's former Everton keeper John Ruddy, who gathers it with ease.

17min - There's a reasonably healthy crowd here at Carrow Road, boosted by a great turn-out from the United fans. But the attendance, when it's announced, probably won't include anyone watching the game from their room in the Holiday Inn, which is situated in one corner of the ground and overlooks the pitch - talk about a room with a view!

13min - Hoolahan is looking dangerous in his role just behind the front two for The Canaries and his inventive chip beats United's defence and allows Chris Martin a sight of goal. But Krul pulls off a superb save, diving to his right to parry the powerfully-struck shot; a great stop to keep the game goalless.

9min - Norwich are clearly full of confidence after winning the League One title last season and after some nice football, Wes Hoolahan sees his shot from just outside the box loop off Tavernier and over the bar, with Tim Krul not looking too concerned. The resulting corner is cleared comfortably and United go up the other end to win a corner of their own - their first of the afternoon - which also leads to nothing.

7min - United appear to have lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Tavernier at centre-back and Ryan Taylor at right back, with Nile Ranger wide right and Haris Vuckic occupying a left-wing role as Chris Hughton experiments with his squad during pre-season. And after a fairly quiet start, Andy Carroll has had the first shot of the game with a speculative volley from 25 yards which swerved off his boot and went well wide.

TEAM NEWS
Steve Harper is rested so in comes Tim Krul, and Jak Alnwick is his deputy with Fraser Forster denied the chance to face the side he starred for on loan last season due to a minor leg injury.

James Tavernier starts again, as he did against Carlisle last weekend, while Haris Vuckic is also in the starting line-up following his cameo and goal at Brunton Park seven days ago.

Kevin Nolan is the captain for United, who are wearing their all blue change kit for the first time.

TEAMS

NUFC: Tim Krul, Ryan Taylor, Jose Enrique, James Tavernier, Fabricio Coloccini, Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan (c), Haris Vuckic, Nile Ranger, Leon Best, Andy Carroll

Subs: Jak Alnwick (G), Mike Williamson, Danny Guthrie, Wayne Routledge, Alan Smith, Xisco, Shola Ameobi, Peter Lovenkrands, Joan Edmundsson, Shane Ferguson, Jeff Henderson

Norwich: Ruddy, Martin, Drury, Nelson (C), Crofts, Jackson, Surman, Hoolahan, Fox, Martin, Ward