NEWCASTLE fan Lee Novak went close to upstaging his boyhood favourites in an impressive Galpharm debut last night.
On for the final 20 minutes and with Town trailing to Kevin Nolan’s clever 67th-minute finish, Novak went perilously close to an equaliser himself before setting up Michael Collins for a golden last-minute chance.
It was enough to suggest he’s ready to build on his 35 goals for Gateshead last season in a first full professional term with Town, and he was one of a number of the new men to catch the eye in what, at times, was a fiery contest in front of 9,691 fans.
Central defender Peter Clarke, particularly, showed why he’s been unveiled as manager Lee Clark’s new club captain with a commanding display at the back.
And there were fleeting glimpses of class from the likes of Lee Peltier, Theo Robinson and Robbie Simpson as Town were given a tough examination by a Newcastle side who closed them down quickly when they came under threat.
Former Town loan keeper Harper, in fact, wasn’t worked over hard throughout although he was relieved to see an Antony Kay 30-yarder go narrowly wide just moments before a half-time bust-up as the teams left the field.
Newcastle returned clearly fired up and it took two brilliant saves from Alex Smithies to keep them at bay, first making a diving stop to deflect away Shola Ameobi’s crisp drive and then standing tall to tip over a shot from Fabricio Coloccini from the resulting corner.
With Newcastle making four changes at half time and others throughout the second half, Town had the chance to maybe capitalise on a few misunderstandings and go ahead – but it was their own concentration which faltered.
A long punt down the middle should have been dealt with by Clarke or Andy Butler – both of whom did well against some quality strikers – but they allowed the ball to bounce beyond the back line and Nolan was on hand to leave Smithies helpless with a neatly lobbed finish.
It was a shame for Town to concede to such a basic error, because they played some encouraging football in patches and kept the 1,654 visiting fans reasonably quiet.
Indeed, Novak had the chance to level things up 11 minutes from time when played through by Simpson, but he lifted the shot fractionally too high as Harper sped from his line.
Newcastle were almost handed a second goal by a misdirected clearance from Butler which fell straight to Nolan in the box.
He was held up by the recovering defender, but as Ameobi seemed certain to score, Clarke and Joe Skarz somehow got back on the line to make an incredible clearance.
It opened the door for Town to rescue themselves from defeat when Novak broke clear in the closing seconds of the game, but Collins somehow managed to direct his diving header wide from barely six yards out.
The frustration boiled over as Novak – who finished the game with a cut chin – was involved in a flare-up with Coloccini at the end, but Town should benefit overall from this run-out against players who, just a couple of months ago, were operating in the Premiership.
Town – Smithies, Peltier, Skarz, Collins, Clarke (P), Roberts, Kay, Robinson (Novak 70), Simpson, Butler, Pilkington. Subs not used: Eastwood, Clarke (N), Goodwin, Clarke (T), Williams, Berrett, Ainsworth.
Newcastle – Harper, Coloccini, Enrique (Donaldson 80), Barton (Smith 58), Guthrie (Tavernier 80), Gutierrez (Duff HT), Xisco (Ameobi HT), Beye (Kadar HT), Taylor S (Taylor R HT), Lua-Lua (Adjei 73), Carroll (Nolan 58). Sub not used: Forster.
