Leeds United

3

Newcastle United

4

Starting Lineup

Starting Lineup

Substitutes

Substitutes

In a superb show of sheer determination and grit, the visiting Magpies came back from 3-1 down to win the game 3-4. Craig Bellamy had opened the scoring for Newcastle in the 38th minute, but Leeds midfielder Lee Bowyer, recently acquitted from an assault charge, cancelled the visitors lead just a minute later. Bowyer then set up 2 more goals in the second half as Leeds romped to a 3-1 lead. But Newcastle retaliated with such ferocity. Defender Robbie Elliott gave Newcastle hope with a diving header which went past goalkeeper Nigel Martyn, and Alan Shearer levelled things up with a penalty. In the dying seconds of the second half, Solano grabbed the winner, and the Magpies eventually won the game.

The first few minutes saw both teams creating many chances. Viduka had at least 2 good chances to score, but one shot was blazed over the bar, and the other deflected for a corner. The visitors also had its fair share of chances. Gary Speed headed the ball just over the bar, and a powerful drive was palmed away by goalkeeper Nigel Martyn. Newcastle started to dominate the game later in the half, and their efforts were rewarded with a Craig Bellamy goal, after a superb buildup between Alan Shearer and Kieron Dyer. But this was not to be, Lee Bowyer equalised for Leeds in a space of a minute. He worked his way around defender Nikos Dabizas, and finally slotted the ball through Shay Given's legs and into the net. A Mark Viduka challange saw Nikos Dabizas being stretchered off with a broken nose just before half-time, making way for on-loan defender Sylvain Distin.

The second half was more balanced, but the pace and life of game didn't show any signs of slowing down. Leeds took the lead through Mark Viduka, who performed his famous turns in the penalty box, and drove the ball past Given. 6 minutes later, the scoreline was increased to 3-1. Ian Harte hit a unstoppable scorcher past Given, following a mishit by Bowyer. Newcastle then staged a brilliant comeback. Robbie Elliott put a diving header past Martyn, and Shearer scored from the spot following a Eirik Bakke handball. Nolberto Solano then grabbed the winner for Newcastle with a drive from six yards out.

At the end of the game, Newcastle's message was clear: Don't write us off.