Welcome to Coventry City vs Newcastle United.
Monday, October 12 and will begin at 8:00 p.m.
The Toon play their first game in twenty-three days this Monday night when they travel to the Coventry Building Society Arena for the first time in the Premier League.
NUFC will be looking to pick up where they left off against Hull City last time out, while Coventry will be hoping to win their first home game of the season so far.
It’s the start of a busy spell for the Magpies, who will now play five matches in twenty-one days, all of which are broadcast live on Sky Sports.
form
Newcastle have won two, drawn two and lost one of their five league games so far this season. There were decent wins at Tottenham and at home to Hull, while there were also 2-2 draws at home to both Liverpool and Bournemouth in very different circumstances. Liverpool’s draw was very disappointing as a superb performance was denied two points by a dangerous penalty awarded to the Reds in injury time. The same scoreline against Bournemouth was met with relief as United had to come back from 2-0 down to rescue an unlikely point. The darkest moment of the season so far came in an away match against Leeds where we never got going and suffered a devastating 4-1 defeat. We also enjoyed wins against both West Brom and Millwall in the League Cup as we drew away to Everton in the last 16. In five league games, we scored nine goals and conceded nine. A win on Monday night will see us into the top four.
Coventry also played five league matches, making a terrible start to the campaign, losing their first four without scoring. Defeats were against “Arsenal”, “Hull”, “Man City” and “Brighton”. They reversed this slump in their last match with a 1-0 away win over Nottingham Forest. They beat Plymouth before losing to Aston Villa in the League Cup. They scored one goal and conceded ten goals in their five league games. A win against the Toon will see them climb out of the relegation zone.
Last time
It seems a long time since Newcastle’s last game, when we hosted Hull City on Saturday 19th September and started with a two-goal lead inside the opening seven minutes. It was only two minutes into the match when Joe Willock scored his third goal of the season with an effort at the Gallowgate End. Newcastle looked set to run riot moments later when Lewis Hall crossed and found the bottom corner. The Toon were then given a chance to make it 3-0 late in the first half, but unfortunately Wissa saved the penalty, making the next goal all-important. Unfortunately, it was the Tigers who scored in the final twenty-three minutes to create an incredible upset. Thankfully, Newcastle survived the international break to win 2-1.
Photo by The Mag
Coventry City went to Nottingham Forest having failed to score in their first four matches, let alone pick up a point. They withstood the onslaught of the first half to claim an excellent victory with their moment of glory coming ten minutes into the second half. VAR came to their rescue with just four minutes remaining to deny Forest an equaliser, and Frank Lampard could breathe a huge sigh of relief at the final whistle.
State attack!
– Newcastle have won four of their last five trips to Coventry in all competitions.
– The Toon have picked up points in their last eight away matches against Coventry.
– Newcastle have only visited this Coventry stadium twice since it opened in 2005. We beat them 3-2 in the League Cup match in 2008 and 2-0 in the championship match.
A match to remember
In September 1998, Ruud Gullit settled into life on Tyneside while promising to bring “sexy football” back to NUFC. After just two matches of the 98/99 season (both draws), Kenny Dalglish was shown the door and Gullit arrived to oversee back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Aston Villa. There was a lot of rebuilding to do and that started with a 4-0 win over Southampton and a 2-1 win over Partizan Belgrade in the Cup Winners Cup.
When they traveled to Highfield Road, the Toon were yet to win an away match all season. Things couldn’t have started worse when Alan Shearer opened the scoring just four minutes later. Yes, you heard that right, our famous number nine headed over his own keeper to give Coventry an early lead. Thankfully, that setback only lasted ten minutes before Nikos Dabizas buried a header (at the right end!) for the second time that week to restore parity. Mr Shearer then made amends in the forty-second minute when he slipped past a defender and slotted home to put the Toos ahead and just a minute later Gary Speed found the bottom corner to make it 3-1 before the break and give Coventry a mountain to climb.
Stephen Glass dispelled any notion of a famous comeback from the Sky Blues in the fifty-eighth minute when he raced through to score his first goal for the club and still had time for the last laugh when a certain Mr Shearer forced a fine save from the ‘keeper, but on a technicality, hit the rebound without scoring his third of the match. The Toon will follow this up with another win against Nottingham Forest, meaning Ruud Gullit will make it four in a row, what could go wrong?! Coventry 1-5 Newcastle.
He played for both
Darren Huckerby He was signed from Lincoln in 1995, but his chances of developing a career at the Toon were massively hampered by Keegan’s decision to scrap the reserve team due to a rule that they had to play some matches at St James’ Park. A little known fact is that his signing coincidentally led to Alan Shearer’s first NUFC goal. Part of the deal was for Newcastle to go to Lincoln for the 1996 season and by then we had signed Mr Shearer who converted a penalty on debut in a 2-0 win (Albert added the second). Darren made just two appearances for Newcastle and failed to find the points during an impressive FA Cup performance at home to Chelsea. Went on loan to Millwall and scored three goals in six league games before being transferred to Coventry City, where he scored his first goal for the Sky Blues in a win against … Newcastle.
Stuart Pearce One of the best footballers England has ever produced. He was near the twilight of his career when he signed for NUFC in 1997. Often derided as part of the “Dad’s Army” brigade of Dalglish transfers, Pearce became an integral part of the team, scoring a fine free-kick in a 2-0 Champions League win over Dynamo Kyiv. He also played in the 1998 FA Cup final as Newcastle put on a show for the first time in twenty-four years. He started the following season with a brilliant effort in a pre-season friendly at home to Juventus, but Dalglish’s substitution of Ruud Gullit spelled the end of his time at Newcastle, and he did not play a game after December 1998. He played for Coventry between 1983 and 1985. time fee for semi-pro. He made fifty-two league appearances and scored four goals for the Sky Blues.
Callum Wilson He spent five seasons at Newcastle, scoring forty-seven league goals. When fit, Wilson was a worthy number 9, scoring a number of vital goals to help us qualify for the Champions League, his eighteen strikes of 22/23 making him our top scorer for the season as we finished an excellent fourth. Unfortunately, injuries cost him his time at the Toon, but his time at St James’ Park will be fondly remembered by fans. He made his debut for his hometown club Coventry in 2009 and scored an impressive twenty-two goals in forty-nine league games.
Managers
Matthias Jaissle after the 2-1 win over Hull: “Overall, I really agree. We had an incredible reaction, especially after the defeat at Leeds. The first half was great, with the third goal we could have killed the game for sure. We were completely dominant and then in the second half you saw the legs get tired towards the end – but we didn’t have nine players either. When it was difficult to defend your own box, everyone was fighting for the three points.
Frank Lampard after the 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest: “It was a real pleasure for the players to feel the feeling of winning a Premier League game. I have to understand that we remember all the reasons why they came there and all the work we talk about and if we keep doubling what we do, why it’s a big thing for them, then good. They will be there and of course if they understand my job, they will understand my job. If you keep working, your belief will grow with it because it’s about getting down to the leagues and coming back. It’s a support base that’s going through such unique circumstances, and now we’re in this moment, and we need them more than ever, and they’re going to be there.
Charity
As it is an away match, Newcastle United fans will not be gathering opposite the Gallowgate end for the food bank. However, you can still help and all online cash donations are greatly appreciated. For more information and/or to donate to the online food bank.
Forecast
I think it will be a close match. There’s no denying that Coventry have had a rather poor start to their Premier League campaign, but a win in their last match could give them a much-needed boost. It’s always hard to predict how things will go after a long international break and I expect a rusty first half from both teams. An opening goal from the Toon early in the second half will be canceled out by the Sky Blues, but I fancy a late NUFC winner and three valuable points. Coventry 1-2 Newcastle.