Anzhi v Newcastle: Key Moments

By Dan King - Newcastle United Club Reporter

Anzhi Makhachkala 0
Newcastle United 0

SECOND HALF UPDATES

90+3mins: And so it's all that way for a 0-0 draw - but that's a very decent result for Newcastle, who will now take on Anzhi at St. James' Park knowing that any sort of win would take them through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

90mins: Eschenko is replaced by Arseni Logashov in Anzhi's final change and there will be three minutes of stoppage time.

87mins: Eto'o tries to beat Taylor for pace after a neat piece of skill but the Magpies man does well to hold him up and the striker can only send a weak shot, off balance, straight at Elliot.

84mins: A change for both sides - Shatov comes off for Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez for the hosts while for Newcastle, Cheick Tiote is on for captain Cabaye. Tiote is wearing the armband.

81mins: Obertan shows great strength to rob Eschenko and skip past Joao Carlos but his low cross is cut out just before it reaches Ameobi.

79mins: A decent half-volley from Marveaux is blocked by Andrei Eschenko when it might have been on target but for the interception, which took it wide for a corner.

78mins: Eto'o lines up a long-range free-kick after Cabaye fouled Traore but the man from Cameroon can't get his effort on target as Elliot watches it sail wide.

75mins: Steven Taylor is on for Anita, who hasn't played too much football recently. Taylor will play in defence with Perch moving to midfield.

73mins: Anita scampers onto a pass from Sylvain Marveaux and hits a shot from at least 30 yards which looked for a second like it might swerve in but ended up flying narrowly over the bar. It was a great hit from the Dutchman though.

66mins: Jucilei cuts in and shoots but his effort flies way off target and onto the running track behind that goal.

65mins: Ben Arfa makes way for Shola Ameobi, who will assume the role as main striker from the Frenchman, who was effectively playing as a 'false nine.'

63mins: Fantastic football from Newcastle almost sees them take the lead. Haidara's chipped ball down the line was Gabriel Obertan burst down the line and then work the ball back to Sissoko, who found Vurnon Anita and then Yohan Cabaye, whose pass found Hatem Ben Arfa racing into the box. The Frenchman went for a clever dinked finish and Vladimir Gabulov stood up tall to block - what a great team goal that could have been.

61mins: Elliot makes his second smart stop of the game to again deny Eto'o, who stole in from the left and hit a low shot which was creeping in but for the hand of the diving keeper, who tipped it around the post. From the resulting corner, Shatov chests the ball down and shoots but it's wide of the target and Elliot never looked worried.

49mins: James Perch makes a great block from Traore as he turned and shot from the edge of the box after a sustained spell of possession by the hosts, who have started the second period well.

46mins: Anzhi - who are in all-yellow - get the second half started, with Newcastle now kicking towards the small band of away fans behind the goal.

FIRST HALF UPDATES

45+1mins: It's been a match low on incident but Newcastle are drawing 0-0 with Anzhi Makhachkala at half-time. They've been dogged and disciplined and they will be by far the happier of the two teams at this point.

45mins: There will be just one minute of added time and that's no surprise, because nothing much has really happened.

39mins: Out of nothing, Samuel Eto'o has the first chance of the game as he lets fly from almost 30 yards and his piledriver needs a strong tip over the bar from Elliot. That will certainly have warmed the keeper's hands on this freezing cold night.

34mins: Massadio Haidara is booked for a tug on an Anzhi player but United defend the free-kick well and still Rob Elliot has had nothing of any real note to do.

28mins: As we approach the half hour mark there have still been no shots on goal from either side and it has surely been one of the least eventful matches of the season. But that won't worry Alan Pardew - the current scoreline would suit his side down to the ground with a second leg at St. James' Park to come.

23mins: Anzhi make an early change, presumably enforced - star man Willian is off and the giant Lacina Traore is on in his place.

14mins: The highly-rated Willian plays in Oleg Shatov, who crosses low from the left but Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa is perfectly positioned to clear. That's the most threatening that either side has looked so far.

9mins: It's been a low key start but Newcastle won't mind that - they've kept possession well and contained the Russians so far.

1min: At the huge Luzhniki Stadium which is probably less than 20 per cent full - Makhachkala is 1,000 miles away from Moscow and Anzhi only play here on European nights - and on an artificial surface, Newcastle get this Europa League round of 16 first leg tie underway. Around 70 hardy Newcastle fans are estimated to be here despite the distance and the expense, although there are also a handful of black and white shirts in home areas. Every United player bar Moussa Sissoko is wearing tights - to be fair, it is minus 11 degrees.

Anzhi Makhachkala (4-2-3-1): Vladimir Gabulov; Andrey Eschenko (Arseni Logashov 90), Joao Carlos, Ewerton, Yuri Zhirkov; Jucilei da Silva, Lassana Diarra; Odil Ahmedov, Willian (Lacina Traore 23), Oleg Shatov (Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez 84); Samuel Eto'o (c)

Subs not used: Evgeniy Pomazan, Rasim Tagirbekov, Ali Gadzhibekov, Fedor Smolov

Newcastle United (4-2-3-1): Rob Elliot; Danny Simpson, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, James Perch, Massadio Haidara; Yohan Cabaye (c) (Cheick Tiote 84), Vurnon Anita (Steven Taylor 75); Sylvain Marveaux, Moussa Sissoko, Gabriel Obertan; Hatem Ben Arfa (Shola Ameobi 65)

Subs not used: Jak Alnwick, Davide Santon, Gael Bigirimana, Adam Campbell

Referee: Istvan Vad (Hungary)