Newcastle	2 - 1	Liverpool
Scorers Martins 26 Solano (pen) 70  Booked Bramble 66	Half Time ( 1 - 1 )	Scorers Bellamy 6  Booked Gerrard 90

Liverpool named Mohammed Sissoko and Bolo Zenden in their midfield as Newcastle welcomed back Nolberto Solano and Celestine Babayaro, despite having the best part of a first team still unavailable.

With Crouch on the bench and Bellamy and Kuyt up front, Liverpool were looking to take their recent impressive form to the north-east and maintain their faint title challenge but it all fell away thanks in part to a hatful of missed chances and a rather weak penalty against them.

In an exciting rain-soaked encounter, this game didn’t produce as many goals as some previous contests but did manage to yield some great goalmouth action.
It was Liverpool who started the better side and managed to take an early lead thanks to a weak goal clearance from Steve Harper. Jermaine Pennant seized the loose ball on Liverpool’s right and beat Babyaro before squaring across the goal for Bellamy to open the scoring against his old club after only six minutes.
Zenden then had a chance to double the lead when a feeble backpass from Taylor, which was never going to reach Harper in such wet conditions, allowed the Dutchman to run on to the ball. But before he could get close enough to shoot or make his mind up what to do, Harper was out to save it.

Both sides continued to have opportunities to score but it was Newcastle who were the next to get on the scoresheet when Reina’s unfortunate rebounded clearance gifted Obafemi Martins with an open net. As Martins and Agger both chased the ball, Reina decided to come rushing out to clear the danger, but his attempted clearance rebounded off Agger and straight into the path of Martins who was able to score the equaliser.

As Liverpool pressed forward again, Bellamy had chances to score further goals to make the game safe at the interval but he couldn’t convert any of them. He first picked the ball up on the right, but his attempted cross didn’t come to anything. Soon afterwards he was played through and rounded Steve Harper but he didn’t get the best connection with the ball and his shot was cleared by Bramble. Within a minute he found himself in a good position again and went to hit the ball over the outcoming keeper, but Harper just got his fingertips to it and directed it on to the crossbar.

The game was level at the break but with the action the first 45 minutes had seen, the crowd must’ve been relishing the second half.
The second half was almost as entertaining as the first but with fewer clear chances. Most opportunities fell to Liverpool as they continued to miss prospect of putting the game beyond doubt. Kuyt was a guilty culprit as he hit a wayward shot when he should’ve got it on target.

Then with 20 minutes to go Riise got the faintest of touches on Stephen Taylor after he had made a short, jinking run and his tumble in the box won a penalty for the Magpies. Solano stepped up to coolly slot the ball into Reina’s bottom right-hand corner to give the home side the lead.

Benitez then also made a couple of possible gaffs in hindsight. With the possibility of suffering more dropped points against a “smaller” team after last week’s draw against Everton, he brought on relative newcomers Guthrie and Arbeloa instead of Peter Crouch, who didn’t appear until six minutes from time.
Not surprisingly, Liverpool’s best effort before the end of the game was a long-range shot from Agger which the goalkeeper parried well and Kuyt just couldn’t get his outstretched leg to.

So after a big midfield battle, Newcastle won the spoils at St James Park to record their second win in their last three games to move up to ninth.
But it is Liverpool who will be kicking themselves for missed opportunities to wrap the game up as they fall further behind Chelsea and Manchester United. After once being within touching distance of the Londoners they are now comfortably behind them and a full 16 points off the top.


Newcastle: Harper, Taylor, Onyewu, Bramble, Babayaro, Solano (Duff 86), Parker, Butt, Milner, Dyer (Sibierski 81), Martins.

Subs Not Used: Srnicek, Luque, Huntington.

Liverpool: Reina, Finnan (Crouch 84), Carragher, Agger, Riise, Pennant (Arbeloa 76), Sissoko, Gerrard, Zenden (Guthrie 75), Bellamy, Kuyt.

Subs Not Used: Dudek, Hyypia.

Att: 52,305

Ref: M Halsey (Lancashire).

By Ben Hughes