Archive
Taylor Hails Team Performance
Written by Newcastle Utd
Steven Taylor made his 250th appearance for Newcastle United on Saturday and was delighted to mark it with three points
By Steven Back
Steven Taylor hailed a solid defensive team performance which led to Newcastle's first Barclays Premier League win of the season over Leicester City on Saturday.
Taylor made his 250th Magpies appearance against the Foxes as Gabriel Obertan's goal proved decisive at St. James' Park.
And the centre-back told nufc.co.uk of the side's relief following their maiden three-point haul of the campaign - and backed United to kick on in the weeks ahead.
"There's relief all around the stadium," he admitted. "Obviously for the players it's what we've been working hard for, to get the first three points of the season.
"Now we can move on and hopefully it's a turning point for us."
The 28-year-old hadn't played since the Capital One Cup win over Crystal Palace on 24th September but came in for the injured Mike Williamson at the weekend and played a key role in the heart of the defence in his first league start of the season.
He said: "It's absolutely great to be back and in amongst it.
"The lads put in a great performance today and the win was fully deserved. All the way from Tim (Krul) to Papiss (Cisse), they were all outstanding and fully deserved the three points.
"I made sure I kept on them off the front foot, didn't give them time and got in amongst it and made sure they knew that they were in the game against me.
"They've got a big striker up front and that's what I like; those personal battles, getting right in amongst it and I thought we all did that.
Taylor put in a stellar performance but insisted that it was a team effort that preserved only the team's second clean sheet of the season - the first coming in a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa in August.
"We competed all around the pitch," he said. "The midfield battled well and it makes it easier for the back four and when you're defending from the front. Moussa (Sissoko) and Papiss started it off for us so I tip my hat to them, they were great.
"You want to win every game and get clean sheets. For us we've got to get back to doing the basics and make sure that we look at previous games we've played and correct the mistakes from them.
"Now we've got to take it one game at a time. We'll enjoy this win but next week it's going to be even harder so we know what we've got to do."
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