Newcastle continue to crumble

Soccer English FA Premiership: Newcastle Utd - 1 Aston Villa - 1  A season that offered so much to Newcastle United is in danger of breaking its promise. After three successive defeats at least they took a point against a durable Aston Villa, but they still lost third place to Chelsea and the Champions League implications of that are multi-million if, as is yet to be decided, the club finishing third qualifies automatically for the group stage.

Newcastle are in the midst of implosion, "a little mini-disaster," Bobby Robson called it. They had been third since beating Manchester City here on January 18 but Robson's players are suddenly staring at finishing fifth with Liverpool just a point behind them.

What a time, therefore, for Newcastle to be paying a visit to the Stadium of Light. That is where they will be going on Saturday and while relegated Sunderland have not won a game since December, that will not be as reassuring a statistic to Geordies as it would have been just 16 days ago.

Then Newcastle went to Everton thinking about winning a first league title since 1927. But they lost at Goodison Park, then at home to Manchester United, then last Saturday at Fulham. Newcastle have to beat Sunderland next, then Birmingham at home and West Bromwich away on the final afternoon. On paper it is straightforward - on paper.

Yesterday, as against Manchester United and Fulham, Newcastle took the lead but failed to hold on to it. A curling free-kick by Nolberto Solano eight minutes before half-time gave them an advantage they just about deserved.

Gareth Barry played quite a part in the goal, kicking the ball away and causing the referee Jeff Winter to march Newcastle 10 yards closer to Peter Enckelman's area. "Absolutely crazy," was Graham Taylor's assessment of Barry's action.

But the prospect of Newcastle adding to the lead never seemed wholly convincing, while the idea of holding on to it disappeared when Jonathan Woodgate walked down the tunnel in the 54th minute nursing a damaged hamstring that may exclude him from the trip to Sunderland. Titus Bramble came on for Woodgate and 15 minutes later neglected the presence of another substitute, Dion Dublin, at a Villa free-kick eventually swung in by Steve Staunton.

Despite being 6ft 1in and pushing 13st, sporting a big bald head and a huge claret and blue shirt, it transpired that neither Bramble nor any of his colleagues saw Dublin appear in the Newcastle area to meet the Irishman's centre. So Dublin jumped to the accompaniment of only Geordie disbelief and planted an excellent header in the corner, beyond the fingers of Shay Given.

Seven minutes earlier Given had made a fine save from the impressive 18-year-old Peter Whittingham and 10 minutes from the end Andy Griffin had to clear uncomfortably from his own line, so Taylor was correct when he said Newcastle were not "camped" in Villa's half.

In fact Enckleman made only one save - from Craig Bellamy - in the second-half. The Welshman was unlucky on another occasion, however, when brought down by Olof Mellberg after he had broken clean through. Referee Winter waved play on, just as Dermot Gallagher did at Loftus Road when Bellamy was upended in the Fulham box.

Robson mentioned that incident afterwards - and Alan Shearer's head wound and Lomana LuaLua's injury-time strike that hit a post. But for a nervy side Newcastle displayed some lethargy. "There's a lot of anxiety around the place," Robson admitted.

Guardian Service

NEWCASTLE: Given, Griffin, Woodgate (Bramble 52), O'Brien, Bernard (Lua-Lua 73), Solano, Dyer, Hughes, Viana, Shearer (Ameobi 74), Bellamy. Subs Not Used: Acuna, Harper. Goals: Solano 37.

ASTON VILLA: Enckelman, Mellberg, Staunton, Johnsen, Samuel, Edwards (Taylor 33), Hitzlsperger (Dublin 65), Leonhardsen, Barry (Whittingham 45), Allback, Vassell. Subs Not Used: Angel, Postma. Booked: Barry. Goals: Dublin 69.

Referee: J Winter.