Honours even at St James Park

So both teams had to settle for 1 point yesterday as Newcastle were held by a decent Bolton side. 
To use the old cliche, this certainly was a game of two halves. From the very start I thought we looked solid in possession and very effective as an attacking unit, which resulted in our skipper Kevin Nolan doing what he does best - being in the right place at the right time to apply a clever headed finish. If the score was 3-1 at half time then I don't think Bolton could complain too much. However obviously that did not happen and Newcastle were made to regret those early missed chances when Daniel Sturridge fired in a quality equaliser right before the half time whistle.  After failing to clear the lines and Tiote being caught in possession Elmander nicked the ball away before squaring it to Sturridge who applied a good finish past Harper. I would like to add that Sturridge is really starting to show his quality since heading to Bolton on loan and I really would like to see Pardew bring Sturridge to St James Park this summer as I feel this lad can have a bright future.


For me a pivotal moment in the game went against Newcastle. Mid way through the first half Leon Best latched onto a through ball from Nolan and raced towards the goal before he was pushed to the ground by Paul Robinson which certainly would of resulted in a penalty and a red card for the Bolton full back. However, the offside flag has been raised by the assistant ref - wrongly in my opinion. That was a game changer - if Newcastle went 2-0 up and Bolton went down to 10 men then the 3 point would certainly have stayed in the North East.


The game was then completely turned on its head when Ryan Taylor saw red early in the second half. I have no complaints about the decision and I don't think anyone can. Unfortunately a poor first touch meant Taylor had to over stretch to make the tackle. Both feet were off the ground and Johan Elmander could of been hurt - it could only be a red card. Taylor is a nice lad, he'll learn from this.


From that point on the dynamics of the game changed. Bolton benefited from their numerical advantage, with the likes of Petrov finding more room to operate but never really causing too many problems for our steady defenders. Newcastle held their own though and did not revert to "Parking the bus" and holding on to the 1 point, instead we pushed and looked equally likely to grab all 3 points. Pardew must be commended for this and it made for an exciting second half.


So Newcastle end the day where we began it - 9th in the Premiership. Things really are tight as we move towards the business end of the season and a run of wins could see us achieve something unexpected this year.