Emotion of Gutierrez return makes up for pain of late defeat

SOMETIMES, it is nice to be reminded that the day-to-day dramas of football are not the most important things in life.

Newcastle might have suffered the agony of conceding an 89th-minute goal this evening as Manchester United edged a largely lacklustre encounter at St James’ Park, but the pain of the concession paled into insignificance when posited against the feel-good factor of a moment that preceded it.

Twenty-five minutes before Ashley Young capitalised on a mix-up between Tim Krul and Mehdi Abeid to condemn Newcastle to defeat, Jonas Gutierrez left the substitutes’ bench, ambled to the touchline, and completed the most important and painful battle of his life.

Less than four months after triumphing in his battle against testicular cancer, the popular Argentinian was back on the football field. Surely that matters more than a narrow, and largely undeserved, home defeat.

A packed St James’ Park crowd rose to greet Gutierrez, and in a moment of genuine emotion, Fabricio Coloccini handed his compatriot the captain’s armband. Despite the result, you could understand why the 31-year-old was so reluctant to leave the field at the final whistle.

He might have been celebrating a better result had Newcastle been awarded a penalty when Chris Smalling felled Emmanuel Riviere in the penalty area in the tenth minute, or had Papiss Cisse not wasted a glorious second-half opportunity with an ugly scuffed shot.

Cisse also saw a stoppage-time header saved by David De Gea, but while Krul made an excellent double save to keep the scoresheet blank at the opposite end, he was culpable for the late fluffed clearance that presented Young with the opportunity to settle things.

Nineteen years to the day earlier, Manchester United had claimed another 1-0 win on Tyneside thanks to Eric Cantona. Suffice to say that neither side are anywhere near the vintage of those 1996 title protagonists.

It is hard to imagine Newcastle challenging in the upper echelons of the table again anytime soon, but last night’s outcome might well have been different had they been awarded an early penalty.

Having nudged the ball past Smalling in the tenth minute, Riviere was felled by the clumsiest of challenges from the England centre-half. Smalling got nowhere near the ball, yet referee Anthony Taylor waved play on, much to the incredulity of the Newcastle players around him.

Taylor’s appointment as the match official was a surprise given that he has spent most of his life in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, and the penalty incident wasn’t the only moment last night in which his inactivity was misplaced.

He also did nothing when Cisse and Jonny Evans became embroiled in an unsavoury first-half incident that saw both players appear to spit at each other. It remains to be seen whether there is any retrospective action.

Cisse went on to miss a golden opportunity in the second half, something that could also be said of Wayne Rooney before the break. With 12 Premier League goals to his name against Newcastle, Rooney has made a habit of putting the Magpies to the sword, but while his general movement and control was as slick as ever, his predatory instincts eluded him when he was presented with a clear opening midway through the first half.

Young’s through ball released him into the area, but despite a flat-footed Coloccini clearly playing him onside, Rooney hesitated as if waiting for a linesman’s flag. It wasn’t forthcoming, and he fluffed an attempt to chip the ball over Krul.

It was a significant miss, as Manchester United struggled to penetrate beyond the Newcastle back four despite spending plenty of time in their opponents’ half. Louis van Gaal has made some unfathomable decisions this season, and the selection of Marouane Fellaini as last night’s key creative midfielder rather than Juan Mata was another bizarre move.

Perhaps it was an attempt to add some aerial threat to the visitors’ play, but when Fellaini met Antonio Valencia’s cross on the stroke of half-time, his header was aimed too close to Krul, who calmly pushed the ball away.

Marcos Rojo drilled over at the start of the second half as van Gaal’s side attempted to increase their tempo, but it was Newcastle who almost claimed the lead moments later.

Coloccini headed Ryan Taylor’s free-kick across the face of the area, and De Gea displayed impressive agility to keep out Riviere’s volley as the striker lunged goalwards at the back post.

That was a decent save, but it was nothing compared to the remarkable double stop from Krul that kept the scoresheet blank in the 54th minute. First, the Dutchman flung himself to the floor to keep out Fellaini’s shot after the Belgian was completely unmarked in the area, then he got down brilliantly again to deny Young as the winger threatened to steer home the rebound from the corner of the six-yard box.

St James’ Park was on its feet to applaud Krul’s efforts, and the noise became even more intense ten minutes later when Gutierrez left the substitutes’ bench.

He should have been celebrating a Newcastle goal within moments of being on the field, but after a swift break from fellow substitute Ayoze Perez ended with Cisse being released through the middle, the Magpies’ leading goalscorer scuffed a tame effort well wide. For a normally reliable finisher, it was an extremely messy miss.

It’s full effect was apparent with one minute left. Rooney won possession on the right, but instead of dealing with his ball into the area, Abeid aimed a hurried back-pass towards Krul. The goalkeeper directed a panicked clearance at Young, and the winger gathered himself before slotting the ball into the net.

Cisse almost claimed an equaliser in stoppage-time, but De Gea clawed his header to safety.