NOT for the first time in recent history, it was a day of what-might-have-beens for Newcastle United at Villa Park.
In the first half in particular, the away team’s dominance was never translated into goals. After the interval the impressive Yohan Cabaye was denied first by the crossbar, then Shay Given.
But when things are going against this Magpies team, they draw. So far this season, losing has not been an option. Only six games in, it is a bit early to be bringing out the bunting in celebration of an unbeaten start, yet it is something now only three other Premier League teams – Villa included – have achieved.
Not bad for a club for whom the next crisis is never normally far away.
At half-time, it looked as though the tale might be very different. Aston Villa had been outplayed on their own patch, their front two starved of service. But when a chance came Gabriel Agbonlahor’s way, he greedily scoffed it.
Newcastle, by comparison, had a wasteful 45 minutes.
Once Leon Best put that right after 57 minutes, the day took on a very different perspective. The Magpies destroyer-in-chief, Cheick Tioté, turned creator, curling in a cross from the left which Best headed at Given. When the ball bounced off the goalkeeper, Best poked in the rebound from yards away.
In some respects the inelegance was appropriate. Best is not from the top drawer of Premier League strikers, which is why manager Alan Pardew tried so hard to find someone capable of filling the iconic No.9 shirt before the transfer window shut, and why there was so much angst when he failed.
Best is capable of flashes of brilliance, such as the touch which created his second goal against Fulham, but they are rare. Yet on Saturday he was far more valuable than the £18m predator at the other end of the field.
Unable to find the net, Darren Bent was substituted four minutes before time having made a minimal contribution. Best, meanwhile, scored a ninth goal in his 12th Premier League start. Forget anything else, that makes him a good centre-forward.
With just a bit more of that, Newcastle could have won on the ground which witnessed the lowest moment in their Premier League history, relegation in 2009. Whereas that team was far less than the sum of its parts, Best epitomises the present-day side, which squeezes the most from its talent. If that sounds like a back-handed compliment, which team would you rather be part of?
