On This Day - Feb 21 - Quiz

FEBRUARY 21

1) 1953 Len White made his debut against Liverpool. He scored 153 goals in 270 appearances for Newcastle. Who did we buy him from and who did we sell him to?

2) 2004 Newcastle beat Middlesbrough 2-1, a week before their Carling Cup final with Bolton. Which Bolton midfielder played that day at Wembley and later went on to skipper Newcastle.

3) 1987 14,000 Toon fans went to White Hart Lane to see Newcastle lose 1-0 to Spurs in the FA Cup. Who beat Spurs in the cup final that year?

(Answers tomorrow)

FEBRUARY 20

1) Newcastle made their first appearance on Match Of The Day on this very day - February 20th. Who was it against? West Ham; Leyton Orient; or Spurs? LEYTON ORIENT

2) 1988 we lost 3-1 to Wimbledon in the FA Cup, but it was famous for an incident when Mirandinha kicked a Wimbledon player up the arse. Who was it? DAVE BEASANT

3) 2000 we beat Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park 3-2 in the FA Cup on our way to a Wembley appearance. Tranmere had the 'Rory Delap' of the day - a guy who could throw the ball to the far post without problem. What was he called? DAVE CHALLINOR  

2003/4 NEWCASTLE 2 MIDDLESBROUGH 1
 
NEWCASTLE: Given, Hughes, O'Brien, Bramble, Bernard, Ambrose (Bowyer 85), Dyer, Speed, Robert, Shearer, Bellamy.
Subs Not Used: Harper, Elliott, Ameobi, Viana.

BORO: Schwarzer, Mills, Ehiogu, Southgate, Parnaby (Downing 85), Mendieta, Boateng, Doriva (Ricketts 85), Zenden, Juninho Paulista, Job.
Subs Not Used: Jones, Maccarone, Riggott.

Att: 52,156

Alan Shearer fired Newcastle back into the Barclaycard Premiership's top four with a precious derby day winner as the Magpies came from behind to see off Middlesbrough.

The 33-year-old claimed his first goal in seven games from the penalty spot with just eight minutes remaining after Craig Bellamy had cancelled out Bolo Zenden's first-half opener on 63 minutes.

United, led by the inspirational Shearer, were just about worth their victory after mounting a concerted second-half fightback in front of a crowd of 52,156, some of whom booed them off the pitch at the break.

But that was all forgotten as the Magpies dug in to send Boro into next Sunday's Carling Cup Final on the back of a heart-breaking defeat despite the best efforts of the excellent Mark Schwarzer.

Newcastle went into the game knowing anything less than victory would represent a missed opportunity to put the pressure on Liverpool, who are in FA Cup action this weekend, in the race for fourth place.

However, the message appeared not to have got through to Sir Bobby Robson's players as they struggled to break down Boro's defence often enough to cause problems.

They were not helped by referee Graham Poll's failure to punish Ugo Ehiogu, who did not look match-fit after a long injury lay-off, for a series of fouls when he had booked both Joseph Job and Doriva for single offences, but there was a worrying lack of cutting edge about their work.

Titus Bramble flicked a header well wide from a Laurent Robert cross and Darren Ambrose missed the target after being played in on the right by Kieron Dyer, while Shearer tested Schwarzer with a well-struck free-kick.

But the Magpies' best chance of the first half came three minutes before the break when Robert's first-time pass put Dyer in on goal, only for Schwarzer to dive low to his left to keep out his side-footed effort.

By that point, the visitors had already taken the lead after George Boateng and Juninho combined on halfway to feed Zenden, who drilled a left-foot shot low past Shay Given and into the bottom corner of the net.

It was one of few first-half chances for either side as defences largely dominated, although Boro's lone striker Job and Juninho had better movement than counterparts Shearer and Bellamy, while wide-men Zenden and Gaizka Mendieta were seeing far more of the ball than Robert and Ambrose.

And the fact that Newcastle, despite their greater share of the possession, simply could not hurt the Boro rearguard will have been of immense concern to Robson at the break.

The Magpies returned determined to force their way back into the game and full-backs Olivier Bernard and Aaron Hughes answered the call for more width by getting into advanced positions on several occasions within the opening few minutes of the half, although they were unable to provide any better service to the frontmen.

Titus Bramble escaped in the 52nd minute when he collided with Job after the striker had pushed the ball past him, but the Cameroon international, to his credit, stayed on his feet and the chance had gone.

Bellamy was presented with a half-chance four minutes later after Shearer flicked on a long clearance, but his enterprising first-time volley was off-target.

But the Welshman finally made his mark on 63 minutes, courtesy of a huge helping hand from Ehiogu.

There seemed to be little danger as Robert's low cross headed towards Schwarzer, but Ehiogu inexplicably took the ball out of his keeper's hands and served it up on a plate for Bellamy to tap home the equaliser.

It was just the injection United needed, and they might have forced their way in front within minutes as Schwarzer pulled off excellent saves to keep out a Robert free-kick and a Bellamy volley in quick succession.

Boro needed to slow the game down, but as quickly as the gained possession, they gave it away again to put themselves under pressure.

Robert failed to make the most of Bellamy's 78th-minute pass under pressure from Danny Mills, but United got their chance with seven minutes remaining when Gareth Southgate was adjudged to have fouled Ambrose inside the box.

The England international pleaded his case in vain as Shearer waited, but the delay did not put him off as he smashed the ball low to Schwarzer's right to win it.