UFO Info Week-End

Then Alain Goma broke upfield Kieron Dyer squared the ball from the right and Ameobi buried a left-footed

Then Alain Goma broke upfield, Kieron Dyer squared the ball from the right and Ameobi buried a left-footed shot low into the far corner of the Leazes End goal.It was the 19-year-old striker’s first goal for Newcastle, and when Dyer scored with a stunning solo effort in the 66th minute the points were effectively in the bag. The chances kept coming for Coventry, but they kept on missing them. Gordon Strachan could raise only a rueful smile when Stephen Glass scored an own goal with 10 minutes remaining.Coventry had barely crossed the Tyne before they suffered their first blow yesterday. Chris Kirkland, their 19-year-old goalkeeper, tweaked a hamstring in the pre-match warm-up and his replacement, Magnus Hedman, did not enjoy the happiest of starts.

With four minutes on the clock, Nolberto Solano curled a corner into the Coventry box and Speed rose to head past the Swedish keeper.Newcastle’s lack of attacking clout in the continued absence of Alan Shearer, Carl Cort and Kevin Gallacher was evident yesterday as they struggled to consolidate their early advantage. Indeed, not until the 24th minute did they threaten Hedman’s goal again and even then, it was Speed, a midfielder, who did the threatening, planting a header off target after Dyer had failed to exploit an opening on the edge of the Coventry penalty area.If Dyer and his attacking partner, Ameobi, were lacking a sureness of touch whenever the ball reached them they were not entirely to blame. The paddy-field pitch did not help either side and Coventry were labouring under the additional handicap of being without their two Moroccans, Youssef Chippo and Mustapha Hadji, who were away on international duty. By half-time, Coventry had yet to test Steve Harper in the home goal, though they had two glorious chances in the four minutes before the break, Paul Williams heading high into the Leazes End with the goal at his mercy and John Eustace ballooning a volley in the same direction when Harper failed to grasp a right-wing cross.It set the pattern for a beguiling second-half. Harper thwarted David Thompson with one brilliant save and Quinn’s goal-line block denied Bellamy, but Coventry contrived and missed seven other sitters in the second half.At the other end, Dyer followed his assist for Ameobi with a dazzling goal of his own, tearing up the right, cutting inside Williams and hitting the target with a low right-footed shot. When Thompson’s left-wing corner curled high towards the far side of the home goal, eluding Quinn’s head and Harper’s hands but not Glass, Strachan could only smile and shake his head in disbelief John Hartson’s signature can not come soon enough..

According to my Collins English Dictionary, a legend is “a notable person or event”. Some persons and events are more notable than others, though, which is why the August selection in the Sunderland Legends calendar purchased by my dear sister for my dear brother-in-law caused such consternation on Christmas Day. Such choices are always subjective and subject to heated debate, as Mrs Merton might say, but, with the greatest respect to Gordon Armstrong and his admirers, his photograph does not sit easily alongside those of Ian Porterfield, Billy Hughes, Charlie Hurley, Bobby Kerr, Jimmy Montgomery, Len Shackleton, Dave Watson, Colin Todd, Trevor Ford, Bob Stokoe and Kevin Phillips. According to my Collins English Dictionary, a legend is “a notable person or event”. Some persons and events are more notable than others, though, which is why the August selection in the Sunderland Legends calendar purchased by my dear sister for my dear brother-in-law caused such consternation on Christmas Day. Such choices are always subjective and subject to heated debate, as Mrs Merton might say, but, with the greatest respect to Gordon Armstrong and his admirers, his photograph does not sit easily alongside those of Ian Porterfield, Billy Hughes, Charlie Hurley, Bobby Kerr, Jimmy Montgomery, Len Shackleton, Dave Watson, Colin Todd, Trevor Ford, Bob Stokoe and Kevin Phillips.
He was a loyal servant, yes, and a goalscoring midfielder who had his moments, notably when he rose to head a thunderous late winner into the Fulwell End goal in the 1992 FA Cup sixth-round replay against Chelsea at Roker Park.