Reds fail to ignite as Solano wins it for Toon

Last updated : 11 February 2007 By Sunday Times

Goals by Obafemi Martins and Nolberto Solano proved that, if money can't buy you love, neither can it buy you success, at least not yet.

Benitez, though, will wish that his new bosses, both of them back in the US already, had been among the bedraggled 52,000 who braved the wind and rain to take in this travesty of a defeat. Led, predictably, by former Newcastle striker Craig Bellamy, who scored an early opener, and for the rest of a one-sided first half ran the home side ragged, they seemed to be demoralised by the lack of reward and, in the end, admitted defeat to a goalkeeping mistake and a late penalty.

It came as a relief to find that there was a match at all, after the sodden pitch had to pass an inspection at midday, and several more in the next 90 minutes. Had referee Mark Halsey not given it the all-clear at 1.30, you wonder who would have missed the fixture, given the plethora of distractions that had already threatened to obscure it. If it wasn't the takeover of Liverpool by Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, it was the first return to St James' Park of Bellamy since he branded Graeme Souness a liar. The striker was called much worse yesterday by a hostile Newcastle support, especially when he gave his current team an early lead, and proceeded to wreak havoc on his old one.

Sir Bobby Robson, who was in the crowd for this one, called Bellamy a nightmare when he was manager here, albeit one whose ability made the sleepless nights worthwhile. It was almost inevitable that the temperamental forward should come back to haunt Newcastle.

Benitez, conscious of the potential for lapses in concentration, had a word with Bellamy beforehand, and in what was a rampant first half for the Welshman, there could have been a hat-trick.

He was all over this notoriously dodgy Newcastle defence, dashing after long balls, cutting in behind the full-back and testing the goalkeeper from every angle. In one frantic minute, he had two glorious chances, first when the ball was threaded through to him by Jermaine Pennant, and then when he was set up by Mohamed Sissoko, the midfielder returning from long-term injury. On that occasion the advancing goalkeeper, Steve Harper, did just enough to deflect Bellamy's shot on to the crossbar.

Harper, though, had been far from impressive in the sixth minute, when an early goal provided Bellamy's only reward in a first half from which he deserved more. When the goalkeeper fluffed a clearance, Pennant easily skipped past Celestine Babayaro, and the striker swept in the cutback from just outside the six-yard area.

Harper, deputising for the injured Shay Given, had been questioned at Anfield in September, when Xabi Alonso scored from all of 65 yards, but if there was any danger of the goalkeeper's head going down, consolation soon came from his opposite number. Liverpool had been making much the better of dreadful conditions until Jose Reina came out to meet Martins and succeeded only in battering the ball against his opponent. When it dropped to Martins' feet, the Nigerian easily converted his 12th goal of the season, and one that gave the match a misleading score.

It was not a day for defenders, especially Newcastle's error-prone variety. Boudewijn Zenden nearly capitalised when Steven Taylor was short with a passback, but his firm shot was parried by Harper.

The Dutchman also threatened with a raking shot towards the bottom left-hand corner, only to see the goalkeeper scoop the greasy ball around his post.

Liverpool were altogether more solid, stabilised in central midfield by the complementary qualities of Sissoko and Steven Gerrard, but Zenden's work was the most incisive. When he picked out Dirk Kuyt in the box, the striker brilliantly turned Nicky Butt, before shaping to curl a shot into the far corner. Had he been blessed with the composure to wrap his foot around it, the ball might not have drifted past the upright.

And yet, however ascendant Liverpool were, they remained vulnerable to the sucker punch, a tactic Newcastle seem to have perfected in recent weeks. It came 20 minutes from the end when Martins laid the ball off to Taylor, who somehow rode Sissoko's challenge before tumbling over the outstretched leg of John Arne Riise. Halsey could only point to the spot, from which Solano steered his penalty low and left of the diving Reina.

In a desperate attempt to salvage a point, Benitez substituted both of his wingers, bringing on Alvaro Arbeloa and Danny Guthrie for Pennant and Zenden respectively. The effect, though, was negligible, and it was a measure of their frustration during a second half in which Newcastle seemed to discover a degree of discipline, that their best attempt was a long-range shot from the boot of Daniel Agger. When Harper could only parry, Kuyt just failed to reach the rebound.

Scorers: Newcastle: Martins 26, Solano 70 pen Liverpool: Bellamy 6

Star man: Craig Bellamy (Liverpool)