Newcastle United 4-1 Celtic
Albert Luque proved the unlikely hero as Sam Allardyce tasted
victory at St James' Park at the first attempt.
The forgotten Spaniard, who had been promised a chance to prove
himself all over again, grabbed his opportunity with a first-half
double to leave Scottish champions Celtic reeling.
He and Obafemi Martins combined to hand their side a 3-0 lead at
the break as the frailty of the visitors' defence proved more
costly than that of their hosts.
The Magpies did not have it all their own way by any means as the
Hoops played some neat football, but where Luque and Martins were
decisive in front of goal, it took Celtic 72 minutes to find a way
past former trainee Shay Given as Scott Brown claimed a consolation
strike.
Allardyce to get best out of Luque
The bulk of a crowd of 30,225, including former Magpies boss Sir
Bobby Robson, went home smiling having seen Geremi in particular
shine on his Tyneside debut as James Milner sealed the victory at
the death.
Although there were several significant absentees on the Newcastle
teamsheet with Michael Owen, Joey Barton and Shola Ameobi injured
and Mark Viduka just back from international duty, it was the
omission of Kieron Dyer's name which was perhaps most
notable.
Allardyce admitted on Wednesday that the 28-year-old midfielder
could leave the club because of family problems with West Ham,
Tottenham and Manchester City understood to be monitoring his
situation.
The talk on Tyneside in recent weeks has been of a new era with a
new owner, a new chairman and a new manager in place.
However, no-one more than Luque appears to have taking the
sentiment more to heart after a dismal two years since his
£9.5million move from Deprtivo La Coruna.
The Spanish international has been derided for much of his time at
St James', and with some justification.
But for once, there was a glimmer of exactly why then manager
Graeme Souness invested so much money in securing his
services.
Unlike so often in the past, he got himself in positions to hurt
Celtic, and did so to good effect on 29 minutes to fire home from
Milner's cross, repeating the dose three minutes before the break
with Nolberto Solano this time supplying the ammunition.
With Martins having already given his side an 11th-minute lead with
a right-foot snapshot, the Magpies were in complete control by the
break, although it would not be too unfair to suggest the scoreline
flattered them a little.
Allardyce is working desperately to strengthen his defence, and the
reason was plain to see as the movement of the Hoops front two
Maciej Zurawski and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink at times left them
chasing shadows.
However, crucially, the pair were nowhere near as clinical as their
Newcastle counterparts when the chances came, and Given was only
called into action once when he had to tip Aiden McGeady's deft
33rd-minute shot over the bar.
Luque made way for Andy Carroll at the break as Allardyce made four
changes, and but for a miskick in front of goal the newcomer might
have announced his arrival with a fourth within five minutes.
If anything, the visitors dominated much of the half with McGeady
forcing Given into another, if this time more comfortable,
save.
However, defender John Kennedy's careless 55th-minute back-pass let
Carroll in with substitute goalkeeper Mark Brown rescuing his
team-mate.
Vennegoor of Hesselink fired well wide under pressure from
half-time arrival Steven Taylor on 59 minutes, but Milner left Lee
Naylor for dead to drill a shot just past the far post two minutes
later.
Midfielder Scott Brown set off on a mazy 67th-minute run and
crossed to the near post as the visitors looked to save face, but
David Rozehnal was on hand to clear.
However, Brown got his name on the scoresheet when he headed
McGeady's 72nd-minute cross past Given, and might have doubled his
tally within three minutes when he fired across goal after Matty
Pattison's slip.
Celtic finished strongly as Allardyce continued to make changes -
reserve keeper Steve Harper played the last 11 minutes as a striker
- and Given denied Brown a second after he was played in by
substitute Kenny Miller.
But Milner wrapped up the win with an excellent last-minute strike
with Harper playing a key role in the build-up.
# Allardyce to get best out of Luque
Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has challenged Albert Luque to push
himself through the pain barrier to prove his talent.
The 29-year-old striker emerged from the doldrums at St James' Park
to claim two first-half goals as the Magpies beat Scottish
champions Celtic 4-1 in tonight's friendly.
It was a rare moment of joy for the £9.5million Spanish
international, whose two years on Tyneside have been nothing short
of miserable.
However, Allardyce is confident his ability can come to the fore if
Luque continues to work as he has in the last few days.
He said: 'I knew more about Albert Luque than I did about Obafemi
Martins, because I have been watching Albert Luque since he was a
young lad at Real Mallorca - which was about seven years ago.
'He was playing alongside Samuel Eto'o at Real Mallorca, and I
remember saying at the time I would like to buy those two. But they
were out of our price range at Bolton.
'It has always been interesting for me to see how the have
developed.
'It was strange to see Albert at Newcastle and never playing, and
it was up to me to find out why. That's my job as manager.
'At the moment, we are just trying to get him fitter. If we can get
him fitter he will feel better physically - and then he will feel
better mentally.
'Then we will see the skills Albert Luque can produce more often,
because he is physically and mentally able to do it more
often.
'It is up to him whether he wants to continue going through the
pain barrier as he has over the last few days.
'When he is fitter it will help his mental state - and his football
skills will emerge at the end of it.'
Martins opened the scoring after 11 minutes, and Luque put the home
side in the driving seat with further strikes on 29 minutes and 42
minutes - before making way at half-time.
The visitors rallied in the second half and pulled a goal back
through midfielder Scott Brown 18 minutes from time, but James
Milner wrapped the win up for Allardyce's men with a fourth at the
death.
Newcastle may have been flattered by the scoreline. But the victory
was achieved without the injured Michael Owen and Shola Ameobi and
Mark Viduka, who has just returned from the Asian Cup.
Midfielder Kieron Dyer was also conspicuous by his absence a day
after Allardyce admitted he could leave the club because of
personal reasons.
Allardyce, who dismissed claims he is in the market for West Brom
defender Curtis Davies, said: 'We are protecting our asset. There's
a big value in Kieron Dyer, the player that he is, so I am
protecting the asset.
'He could have ended up playing today and being one of the
casualties like Nicky Butt or Steven Taylor, so it was my decision
to protect that asset and not risk him today - because he is a
valuable asset for Newcastle United.'
Allardyce's opposite number Gordon Strachan was not too dismayed
with what he saw from his side.
He said: 'That's the most chances I have made with any team I have
come here with.
'I see a lot of good things coming from that; I see a lot of things
that can easily be rectified.
'It was one of the best friendlies I have been involved in - I
thought it was a good friendly, good chances, good goals, good
saves.
'The football was good at times, so I enjoyed the game. I didn't
enjoy the result. But I am not going away a confused manager - I am
going away a manager for whom the future looks bright.
'We know what we have got to do; we have one or two wee failings at
the moment that need to be put right.
'But generally, it is not too disappointing going back home.'
