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SV Deurne 0 Newcastle United 4 report by Stevo
Sportpark Kranenmortel Team : Perez, Charvet, Marcelino, Goma, Dumas, Serrant, Speed, Dyer, Shearer, Maric, Ketsbaia
Subs: Barton, Coppinger, Kerr, Andersson, Beherall, Caldwell, Hughes, Dabizas, McClenn So to Deurne, a small town between Eindhoven and the German border, for the match against the local amateur club. Here in the Netherlands there is no equivalent of the non-league Conference, instead there are two separate amateur leagues, one playing on Saturday and the other on Sunday. The origins of this oddity go back the historic Protestant/Catholic split, and the peculiar Dutch system of (for want of a better term) ‘voluntary apartheid’. The two sides once lived in virtually separate worlds here, with the ‘Sabbath honoring’ prods refusing to play on Sunday which never bothered the Catholics. Mercifully most of these frequently found divisions have faded since the 60’s but the two amateur competitions remain. Being in the heart of the Catholic Brabant SV Deurne play in the Sunday league where last season they were relegated to division 3. Even by the standards of the Dutch amateur competition thus our opponents are not amongst the strongest. The ground is located behind a tennis club on the edge of an industrial estate. The changing rooms consist of a couple of huts near the corner flag, and the best vantagepoint is an overgrown grassy bank running down the side of the pitch. Seeing a couple of few million pounds worth of talent making ‘debuts’ in the evening sunshine in such surroundings was utterly charming. The presence of a journalist and cameraman from Sky was the first indication of the big news. Kieron Dyer had signed, flown out, and was playing. The pulse went up a little. Whilst Sky interview a few fans I lose all sense of dignity by jostling amongst the kids for autographs. As a youngster there seemed no higher aspiration in life than to play for Newcastle United and thus I regard these men, all younger than myself, as heroes. Warren Barton generously signs away for dozens of local youngsters, who evidently don’t have a clue who he is. He attributes his phenomenal fitness to “all the special training we’re doing here mate”. Glass is quiet and serious, Griffin looks very young, Serrant grins and tells me he’s just glad to be playing, and I astonish Shay Given by asking as to the wellbeing of his older brother who I went to college with. On the grassy slope near the half way line it soon emerges I’m not the only one making notes. Mike Bolam, aka Biffa, of nufc.com, and author of ‘The Magpies’, introduces himself. Lovely fellow who lives and breathes Newcastle United Football Club, I doubt there’s anyone else alive with as comprehensive a knowledge of the history of the club. It was a real pleasure watching the game in his company. So it’s officially a 3-4-3 system we’re now playing, although I’ll stand by my earlier‘1-2-2-2-1’ description. We lined up as follows, Perez Dumas Marcelino&ldots;&ldots;.Goma Charvet&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;..Serrant Dyer&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;Speed Maric&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;&ldots;.Ketsbaia Shearer We kick off and Dyer, shorter and slighter of build than I’d imagined, seems keen to impress his new colleagues setting off almost immediately on a run before being chopped down. It was not a great first half performance, even by pre-season friendly standards, with some pretty woeful finishing. Marcelino hit the post whilst at the other end the amateurs came close to taking the lead themselves when slack marking in the box at a free-kick saw Perez produce a truly excellent save from a header high to his left (yes he did) to save our blushes. Thankfully Dyer, determined to make his mark, went on another slalom run through the Deurne defense, was brought down, and Shearer converted the penalty. The ref blew for half-time followed by a pitch invasion of autograph book clutching youngsters, it was that sort of game. Dabizas and Beherall replaced Goma and Dumas, Marcelino dropped back into Franck’s role. Hughes and Barton came on for Serrant and Charvet, and McClenn replaced Speed. By now the game was being played almost exclusively in Deurnes half and goals seemed only a matter of time. Barton got the second with a well placed shot from outside the area; McClenn was obviously taking notes as he grabbed the third from a similar position. Kerr came on for Dyer, Coppinger for Shearer, and Marcelino replaced by Caldwell. In the confusion of keeping track with the substitions I miss the most intriguing one of the lot with Perez replace by a mysterious keeper, not on the team sheet, who my more illustrious ‘colleague’ Mr. Bolam reckoned was possibly former coach Simon Smith . Our fourth goal was the best with McClenn playing a smart one-two on the edge of the area, rushing to the by-line before centering for Coppinger to finish well at the near post. Perez- A virtual spectator for much of the game, but when called upon made a superb save. Charvet- Supposedly more a midfielder than a defender in this system but he played too deep for my liking. Marcelino- Not really the sort of game where you can make a judgement on the big Spaniard. Won the ball in the air with ease, looked a touch less so when asked to play behind in Dumas’s role. Goma- Fewer chances to shine than against Den Bosch. Dumas- Again looked very comfortable on the ball with some lovely passes from deep. Serrant - Produced a couple of excellent hanging crosses. Bright and confident but owes Dumas a glass of Perrier for clearing up after one or two gaffes. Speed- Very quiet, barely noticed him. Dyer- Lithe and determined. Used the ball intelligently both in his passing and running. Clearly determined to impress on his ‘debut’ he was easily our best player in the first half and it was an unexpected pleasure to see him play. Shearer- Looked ring-rusty and only marginally less isolated than Coppinger was the previous day. The 3-4-3 system left Maric and Kets both very wide and Shearer lacked support against amateur defenders who relished the opportunity to play against him. Maric- I’m beginning to worry about Silvio. He displayed an Anderssonesque lack of confidence, was reluctant to take players on or shoot. At times he was difficult to discern from the black and white wearing spectators behind the advertising boards. “You can’t say he’s not been consistent” quips Mike, “he’s been consistently mediocre since he joined the club”. Ketsbaia- Still tries to take on one man too many, still doesn’t look up enough, but Kets was responsible for many of our better moments, especially in the second half when he roared down the left on a regular basis. Seemed to relish playing in a wider role. Subs McClenn - Came on and played like a man possessed, screaming for the ball at every opportunity and using the ball well when getting it. Scored a good goal and created one for Coppinger. Ran around like his pants were on fire. Man of the Match for his sheer effort. Dabizas, Beherall, + Caldwell. Very little to do but I’m informed the latter is a ‘prospect’ and one to watch. Kerr- Worked hard. Looked more comfortable in midfield than wide on the right Coppinger- Took his chance well. 2 goals in 2 games for young Jamie. Mysterious Keeper. I’m afraid I hadn’t even noticed Perez had gone off.
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