Newcastle United 3, Middlesbrough 1

May 12 2009 By Luke Edwards, The Journal

IF Alan Shearer saves Newcastle United from relegation as a manager, it is fitting he will have done so with the help of the man who was signed to replace him as a player.

Stuck in a stalemate with Middlesbrough in a relegation showdown of epic proportions, Shearer turned to Obafemi Martins with 20 minutes remaining in a game his side simply had to win if their Premier League future was to remain in their own quivering hands.

In less than 60 seconds, that player had scored one of the most important goals in the club’s history and given Shearer the win that could just prove to be a monumental turning point for the future.

When Martins moved to St James’s Park from Inter Milan for £10m in 2006, he was accepting the responsibility of succeeding one of the greatest players English football has ever had the good fortune to produce.

At 21, the Nigerian’s bravery could not be questioned, even by those who wondered whether a relatively unknown African striker from a substitute’s bench in Italy would ever possess the ability to slip on such humongous shoes.

United fans, though, adore their centre forwards and Martins has been idolised even when, at times, he has not deserved such adulation. With this goal, sliding the ball into the bottom corner after he seized on Mark Viduka’s flick-on and Kevin Nolan’s pass, his place in United folklore is forever assured. Legends are made on nights like these.

At times, it was horrendous to watch, the tension unbearable, the nerves sickening, the stakes far too high for the game to ever be considered enjoyable.

At others, it was breathtaking, the adrenaline rush unavoidably addictive, the passion infectious and the excitement irresistible as the two teams ploughed into each other with a relentless energy fuelled by the desperation of the situation they find themselves in.

Played at a break-neck speed, the sort of speed the Europeans simply cannot comprehend in a game of football, there was always a feeling that, on every attack and every set-piece, there was an accident waiting to happen.

Both goals in the first-half came from mistakes, Newcastle failing to clear under pressure before the Middlesbrough defence went to sleep at a corner to allow United a free-header. Newcastle predictably flew out of the blocks, like a boxer swinging wildly in search of a first round knockout. Twice inside the first two minutes they came close to finding Boro’s chin, Michael Owen just failing to take Jonas Gutierrez’s pass in his stride after just 16 seconds before some neat interchanging between Owen and Mark Viduka teed up Danny Guthrie for a shot which he sliced into the stand.

United’s supporters were encouraged by what they saw and then stunned by what followed. Boro’s experimental formation, with Marvin Emnes starting for the first time in the league up-front, had barely ventured into the opposition half when they took the lead.