Newcastle 2 SC Braga 1

By Dan King - Newcastle United Club Reporter

Newcastle United 2 (Ba 64, Taylor 73)
SC Braga 1 (Amorim 68)

Fabricio Coloccini lifted what Magpies fans hope will be the first of many trophies this season as Newcastle became the first English team to win the Trofeu Internacional de Futebol do Guadiana with victory over Braga.

Having drawn their opening game against Olympiakos the previous day, Alan Pardew's men knew that three points would be enough to clinch the title at the three-team pre-season tournament in the Algarve.

And after a low-key first period, the second half saw both sides going for it - and United came out on top against a side who finished third in the Portuguese top flight last term,

Demba Ba opened the scoring with his second goal of the summer, sweeping home after his penalty kick was parried by Beto, but Ruben Amorim levelled just four minutes later.

Up stepped Ryan Taylor with a peach of a free-kick to win it, though, while there was still time for Braga defender Douglao to see red.

SECOND HALF UPDATES

90+4mins: It's finished here at the Estadio Algarve and Newcastle United have won the 12th Trofeu Internacional de Futebol do Guadiana by virtue of a good win against Braga. All the action happened in the second half, with Demba Ba giving the Magpies the lead, slotting home after his penalty was saved and although Ruben Amorim equalised, parity was short-lived as Ryan Taylor's glorious free-kick won the game and the tournament.

90+3mins: Obertan races upfield and plays a clever ball to Vuckic, heading towards the corner flag. Rather than play for time, however, the Slovenian picks out Cabaye with a floated pass and the Frenchman's half-volley bounces off the ground only to be acrobatically tipped around the post by Beto.

90mins: There will be four minutes of stoppage time at the end of the match.

88mins: Another change for Newcastle, with Gabriel Obertan on for Sammy Ameobi, who had a superb first half but has been a little quieter in this second period.

86mins: Haris Vuckic is on for Ba for these final four minutes.

85mins: From Cabaye's right-wing free-kick, Ameobi gets in a deft flick-header which Beto is well-postioned to deal with.

84mins - RED CARD: For the second time in two days, Newcastle's opponents end the game with ten men as Douglao is sent off for a second bookable offence. Hopefully Newcastle can make their man advantage count this time.

81mins: Two great chances for the Portuguese: first, Douglao thinks he's scored for Braga as the ball falls to him six yards out but he prods it straight at Harper, and then Jose Luiz runs at Coloccini, who slips, and lets fly with a low shot which cracks off the base of the post and to safety.

73mins: Ryan Taylor can get them over the wall at home or abroad, as he shows here with an inch-perfect free-kick. As Cabaye was still trotting on, the Scouser stepped up to bend a 25-yard effort into the top corner with Beto rooted to the spot and Braga's lead lasted for just three minutes.

72mins: Yohan Cabaye replaces Tiote in Newcastle's first change of the night - it's good to see the Frenchman back in a black and white shirt after being given extra time off following his participation in the European Championships.

70mins: Tavernier does enough to hold off Eder in the box and prevent him from getting in a shot but the ball finds its way to Cesar, whose lofted effort drops agonisingly wide.

69mins: Braga make a double-substitution straight after scoring, bringing on Custodio for Djamel and former Magpies favourite Hugo Viana for Mossoro.

68mins: After Newcastle have the ball in the net for a second time only to see the goal disallowed, Braga break and score with a deflected shot. Marveaux's right-wing corner was forced home by a combination of Coloccini and Ameobi, but the assistant referee raised his flag and almost immediately, the Portuguese side went upfield and Ruben Amorim's effort hits the heel of Coloccini, who has raced back to defend, and deceives the helpless Harper.

67mins: An altercation breaks out between Ba and Luis Alberto, which the referee deems worthy of a yellow card apiece. That's four yellow cards now, two for each team.

64mins (NEWCASTLE GOAL (1-0): A lovely take from Marveaux allows him to put in a cross which Beto punches out, but Braga fail to regroup properly and the Frenchman goes down in the box under a challenge from Douglao, who is booked. It's a penalty, which Ba steps up to take and although his spot-kick is parried by the keeper, he follows up to convert the rebound and put the Magpies on course to win this pre-season tournament.

61mins: Ryan Taylor crosses from the left and Demba Ba goes down in the box, seemingly pushed by a Braga defender, but the referee is having none of it and waves play on. It looked like a decent shout for a penalty from here and the Newcastle man certainly thought it was.

55mins: Jose Luis races onto a ball which splits the Newcastle defence and tries to round Harper, who uses all of his experience to race from his goal and steer the substitute a little wider than he'd like before nicking the ball away with his glove for a Braga corner, which leads to nothing.

52mins: The first yellow card of the game goes to Cheick Tiote after he leaves Ruben Amorim in a heap just outside the box, but the booking was probably due largely to several fouls before that - he's certainly been a persistent offender tonight in the eyes of referee Paulo Batista.

46mins: Newcastle are unchanged at the break but there is a double substitution for Braga; Eder and Jose Luis are on for Manoel and Carlao, and it's the Portuguese outfit who get this half underway.

FIRST HALF UPDATES

45+1mins: It's half-time. It's been goalless and no wonder, as there's only been one clear-cut opportunity; that fell to Papiss Cisse, whose effort from a Danny Simpson cutback was too high. Still, it's proving to be a decent test and against a side who finished third in their league last term, it's been a decent showing.

45mins: There will be one minute of stoppage time and as the board goes up, Ruben Amorim scampers forward and shoots from 18 yards but drags it wide of the far post. Then seconds later, Paulo Cesar also has a shooting opportunity but sends it too close to Harper.

35mins: Cisse misses the best chance of the game, blazing over the bar after great work from Ameobi and Simpson. Ameobi delayed his pass to allow Simpson - who has been adventurous tonight - to overlap him and then deliver a great cut-back for the Senegal star, who gets underneath his shot and sends it into the empty stand behind the goal rather than into the net.

31mins: Tiote fizzes the ball into the feet of Danny Simpson, who finds himself in the opposition box and does well to deliver a cross to the far post. It's just a fraction too powerful for Cisse to control first time, though, and the striker instead goes for a back-heel which leads to nothing, but United are beginning to become a force in this match.

29mins: Ba and Cisse have been starved of the ball for most of this half but suddenly they burst into life, with Ba playing a lovely delicate ball into the box which Cisse is inches away from getting to first. However, it's the Braga keeper, sliding from his goal, who gets the crucial touch to deny the Newcastle number nine.

25mins: Lovely skill on the right-hand side of the box from Ameobi results in the England under-21 man digging out a cross which Demba Ba looks set to head home, only for Douglao to get a vital interception and head it behind for a corner.

19mins: The Ivorian enforcer is indeed back on the pitch and showing no real ill-effects from that knock. He's moving freely and fortunately it doesn't appear to be a situation like Dan Gosling's last night, when the ex-Everton man tried to run off a hip injury but was forced off a few minutes later.

17mins: Tiote goes down inside his own half after what looked like a painful collision as he went in for a loose ball. His scream of anguish could be heard from the stands but fortunately, he gets to his feet eventually after treatment from David Henderson and looks like he'll be able to resume. He'll be getting some stick about that scream if so!

12mins: Braga play some nice football and after a period of possession following a short free-kick, Djamal swings over a ball from the right and Manoel heads off target. They finished third in the Portuguese top flight last year and it's not hard to see why on this evidence.

7mins: Cheick Tiote is caught on the ball 30 yards from goal, allowing Carlao to steal a march and fire in a shot from the edge of the area. However, it's straight down the throat of Steve Harper.

5mins: Demba Ba spreads play to Sammy Ameobi on the right hand side, and the beanpole youngster shows good skill and strength to cut inside and get in a low shot which is on target but too close to Beto, who clutches it into his chest.

1min: With Braga in red shirts, white socks and red socks and Newcastle in black and white, we're underway here in the Algarve with both teams knowing that a victory would be enough to clinch the Trofeu Internacional Futebol do Guadina trophy. There are perhaps two or three hundred Newcastle fans here and they'll do their best to make an atmosphere in this 30,000 capacity stadium. Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse have taken kick-off.

Newcastle United (4-4-2): Steve Harper; Danny Simpson, Fabricio Coloccini (c), James Tavernier, Ryan Taylor; Sammy Ameobi (Gabriel Obertan 88), Cheick Tiote (Yohan Cabaye 72), Jonas Gutierrez, Sylvain Marveaux; Papiss Cisse, Demba Ba (Haris Vuckic 86)

Subs not used: Tim Krul, James Perch, Mike Williamson, Paul Dummett, Steven Taylor, Davide Santon, Gael Bigirimana, Mehdi Abeid, Romain Amalfitano, Shola Ameobi

SC Braga: Beto, Baiano, Douglao, Paulo Vinicius, Luis Alberto, Ruben Amorim, Carlao, Paulo Cesar (c), Ismaily, Manoel, Djamal

Substitutes: Custodio, Hugo Viana, Salino, Mossoro, Alan, Helder Barbosa, Jose Luis, Eder, Lima, Cristiano, Elderson

Referee: Paulo Batista