Newcastle United have overcome the absence of Alan Shearer, the departures of Les Ferdinand and Peter Beardsley and on Saturday, even the idiosyncratic timetable by which Faustino Asprilla leads his life. They have played two, won two, are the only unbeaten team in the Premiership and have reasons to be reasonably content when they leave for Zagreb tomorrow. Aston Villa, however, have considerably less to be pleased about. Played three, lost three, no goals, no points, they are bottom of the league. The shock here is that few outside Villa Park expected them to struggle. And yet the disparity between the two sides' statistical positions was not reflected in a match of not so much underwhelming quality as overwhelming passion.
Newcastle won due to a spanking volley from John Beresford but it was their greater overall commitment which merited this victory. No one typified this more than the trio of Stuart Pearce, David Batty and Ian Rush, the oldest debutant on the Tyne.
Pearce was fearsome from the off, at one point being on the verge of heading the ball while it was on the ground and Mark Draper's foot lurked nearby. Needless to say Pearce was the one who came away in possession. Batty has a similar reckless bravery to his game and as he thundered into challenges with manslaughter the apparent intention, it was only a matter of time before he was booked. That it took 40 minutes was another curiosity of a peculiarly volatile match. Then, 13 minutes later, Batty followed that nasty piece of push and punch with surly Stan Collymore, for which both received yellow cards, with a spectacular - though less vicious - attack on Steve Staunton. And that was the end of Batty.
Newcastle regrouped for the remainder and had Alessandro Pistone, Shay Given but most of all Dwight Yorke, who missed two inviting chances, to thank for the clean sheet. However, the reduction in numbers meant further isolation for Rush whose debut was notable for his trademark selfless running. Rush confessed to being surprised that he even started, but then his head must have been puzzled on entering the dressing-room to find Asprilla wasn't there.
Unfortunately for Newcastle, Asprilla's late returns from international duty are as regular as his cartwheels to the corner flag and presumably Kenny Dalglish is already checking Columbia's World Cup itinerary. They play Venezuela next month and Argentina in November. Asprilla arrived at St James Park just after kick-off and sat behind John Barnes on the bench yawning as Rush ran tirelessly. Substituted near the end, Rush was given a standing ovation. "I hadn't expected that," he said later, "but they seem to appreciate it when you give 100 per cent." Of his new team-mates he added, "I was impressed with the spirit, it was really evident when we went down to 10 men. Pistone reminds me of Mark Lawrenson, he's a class defender."
Dalglish was less convinced by that comparison saying: "He's a lot younger than Mark and his Italian's a lot better."
Guardian Service
Newcastle: Given, Watson, Albert, Pistone, Pearce, Beresford, Batty, Lee, Ketsbaia (Barton 53), Gillespie, Rush (Tomasson 84). Subs Not Used: Hislop, Howey, Elliott. Sent Off: Batty (53). Booked: Ketsbaia, Batty, Albert. Goals: Beresford 13.
Aston Villa: Bosnich, Charles, Southgate, Ehiogu, Staunton (Wright 69), Grayson (Joachim 69), Scimeca (Nelson 69), Taylor, Draper, Yorke, Collymore. Subs Not Used: Oakes, Milosevic. Booked: Ehiogu, Collymore, Southgate. Attendance: 36,783.
Referee: G S Willard (Worthing).
