PA
Newcastle tipped the title race back into Manchester United's
favour after they held Chelsea to a goalless draw at St James'
Park.
A day after derby rivals Middlesbrough had opened the door for the
reigning champions, the Magpies slammed it shut to leave United
three points clear at the top.
Glenn Roeder's side were more than good value for their point after
limiting the Blues to only one effort on target, and that 10
minutes from time.
However, Jose Mourinho's side may live to regret misses from Frank
Lampard, Salomon Kalou and at the end, substitute Joe Cole, as they
rallied after the break but could not extend their run of nine
successive Barclays Premiership victories.
But things could have been even worse for Chelsea had goalkeeper
Petr Cech not got down to block Kieron Dyer's 59th-minute shot, and
the Magpies left the field to warm applause from a crowd of 52,056
after a second successive home draw against one of the top-four
sides.
Mourinho bemoans penalty decisions
Chelsea arrived on Tyneside knowing victory would take them to
within a point of United a day after they were held 1-1 at Old
Trafford by the Magpies' derby rivals Middlesbrough.
However, they did so knowing that was something they had not
managed to achieve in the league at St James' Park in four
visits.
Newcastle have had an intensely frustrating capacity this season to
save their best for the Premiership's big guns, and having taken
all three points from Liverpool and one apiece from United and
Arsenal already, they were determined to extend that record.
For 45 minutes, they looked more than capable as Roeder's men made
the double champions look distinctly ordinary and limited them to
two attempts on goal, neither of which troubled goalkeeper Steve
Harper.
John Terry's wayward 36th-minute header and a wild long-range
striker from full-back Wayne Bridge on the stroke of half-time were
as near as the Blues, who lost Michael Ballack to injury after just
18 minutes, came to calling Harper into action.
That was due in the main to a spirited display from the Magpies,
for whom captain Nicky Butt was tenacious in midfield and central
defender Steven Taylor little short of faultless as he marshalled
Didier Drogba to such an extent that the striker started to lose
his composure as the game wore on.
For their part, Newcastle created few genuine chances, but always
looked the more likely scorers.
Antoine Sibierski caused problems for both Cech and full-back Paulo
Ferreira with a second-minute header, while Dyer saw a shot
deflected wide eight minutes later.
Obafemi Martins went close with another effort which flew behind
off a Chelsea leg and then whistled a 25-yard drive past the post
with the home fans sensing an opportunity to have a major say in
the destination of the title.
However, Chelsea returned in determined mood and had two
opportunities to take the lead within three minutes of the
restart.
Lampard shot over in the 47th minute after Kalou had twisted his
way past Solano and Titus Bramble to lay the ball back into his
path.
Kalou caused problems again seconds later to pick out Shaun
Wright-Phillips, but when he pulled the ball square for Drogba, his
attempt to curl a shot into the top corner was woefully high and
wide.
Mourinho replaced Wright-Phillips with Cole on 55 minutes, but the
Magpies went close four minutes later.
Dyer was given the benefit of a marginal offside decision to run on
to Butt's through-ball, but Cech made a vital block.
Martins headed over from Milner's corner, but the drama switched
swiftly to the other end when Cole found himself in space on the
left on 62 minutes.
Lampard's effort from his low cross was blocked and Kalou miskicked
as he slid in, allowing Butt to tidy up.
Sibierski headed over from Milner's cross two minutes later, but it
was Chelsea, aided by the arrival of substitute Andrei Shevchenko,
who finished stronger.
They got their first attempt on target when Drogba flicked in a
header at the near post, but Harper was equal to the task.
Martins headed over from a Milner cross and substitute Andy Carroll
blasted across the face of goal in injury-time.
However, Cole might have snatched victory in the final seconds when
he got a touch on Paulo Ferreira's cross, only to see his effort
spin agonisingly wide of the far post.
# Mourinho bemoans penalty decisions
Frustrated Jose Mourinho claimed it was 'forbidden' for Manchester
United to concede penalties or Chelsea to win them after watching
his side miss the chance to close the title race gap to one
point.
Chelsea were well below their best in a goalless draw with
Newcastle at St James' Park which leaves them three points adrift
of United, but Mourinho was annoyed that his side had not been
awarded a 10th-minute penalty for handball against full-back
Stephen Carr.
Mourinho, who insisted speculation over his future was 'over' after
reassurances from Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon, went into
the match already feeling aggrieved that Sir Alex Ferguson's men
had survived strong spot-kick appeals in Old Trafford clashes with
Sheffield United and Middlesbrough.
'It is not possible (for) penalties (to be awarded) against
Manchester United, and it is not possible (to get) penalties in
favour of Chelsea,' claimed the Chelsea boss.
'If somebody punishes me because I tell the truth, it is the end of
democracy, we go back to the old times.
'Nobody can punish me because I say it (the Carr handball) was a
penalty. At Old Trafford, it was a penalty yesterday (when John
O'Shea felled Lee Dong-Gook). It was a penalty today, so we are
speaking about points, unless the goalkeeper saves the
penalty.'
Mourinho admitted that Chelsea had not deserved to win against
Glenn Roeder's men but reasoned that had a penalty been given
against Carr it would sparked a very different performance from his
side.
'Newcastle did not deserve to lose, but one view is the game we saw
and another is the one we could have seen. If the score was 1-0 (to
Chelsea) after 10 minutes, the game would naturally be
different.
'I am suggesting nothing, I am speaking just facts. It looks like
it is forbidden to give a penalty against them (United) and in our
favour.
'I am not speaking about a conspiracy, I am speaking about facts.
If I speak about a conspiracy, I have to prove the conspiracy, and
because I do not prove it, I am punished.
'I want to be pragmatic. If one of you tells me it was not a
penalty against Sheffield United, if one of you tells me it was not
a penalty against Middlesbrough and if one of you tells me it was
not a penalty against Newcastle, we need to go to our
optician.'
Mourinho's comments came just days after Kenyon sought to end
speculation over the manager's future by confirming he will remain
in charge next season amid speculation that Jurgen Klinsmann had
been approached to take over.
The former Porto boss welcomed Kenyon's comments after weeks of
rumours about the relationship between Mourinho and owner Roman
Abramovich, which appeared to have thawed following Chelsea's FA
Cup semi-final triumph over Blackburn.
'It was an important statement,' said Mourinho, 'and the Board
cannot make a statement every day. It is over.
'They knew I wanted to stay and they told me to my face before
Peter spoke to the media that they wanted me to stay.
'I am talking about people who have worked with me for over three
years and we are adults, not kids. When I said I wanted to stay, I
want to stay, and when they tell me they want me to stay, they want
me to stay. The story is over.'
Asked if he was concerned about the Klinsmann rumours, Mourinho
replied: 'A Board is a Board, they can do what they want.
'I was telling them for a long time I wanted to stay and they have
the right to give their statement when they want.
'If they decided to do it not now and only at the end of the
season, it was their right to do it. If they decided at the end of
the season to sack me, it was their right to do it.
'But at this moment, what matters for me is they want me to stay
and my decision is made.'
Mourinho's concerns are now on the pitch, where he faces a
defensive crisis after Ricardo Carvalho picked up an unspecified
injury in training and missed the game at St James' Park with
Michael Essien, who played alongside John Terry on Tyneside,
suspended for the Champions League semi-final clash with Liverpool
on Wednesday night.
In addition, Michael Ballack limped out of the game after just 18
minutes after a heavy challenge from Titus Bramble and is unlikely
to be fit in midweek.
In the circumstances, opposite number Glenn Roeder was the more
satisfied of the two managers after seeing his side limit the
visitors to a handful of chances and come close to winning it
themselves through Kieron Dyer.
Roeder said: 'I was happy with the performance. The boys have taken
a little bit of flak over the last month or so and I told them
before the game that this was an opportunity to get some pride back
and show the supporters they are prepared to show the bravery and
courage you need when you are playing the double champions.
'They did that today. I do not think there was a poor performance
from any of our players and it was probably a fair result.'
Meanwhile, Roeder confirmed that striker Michael Owen will not play
for the reserves at Bolton on Tuesday, but is closing in on a
return to action.
