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Bedlington Terriers	1 - 3	Newcastle United
Half time:	1 - 1
Score Sheet:
Graham (14)		McMenamin (43) Chopra (79) LuaLua (89)
	Teams
Gareth Powell James Harmison Graham Hogg Christian Graham Martin Kirkby Warren Teasdale Micky Cross Anthony Chapman Willie Moat John Milner Robbie Cockburn		John Karelse  Ryan McGuffie Oliver Bernard Steve Caldwell Gary Caldwell Jamie McClen Diego Gavilan Mark Boyd James Coppinger Colin McMenamin Stuart Green
Substitutes:
Dean Gibb for Cockburn (62)		Peter Ramage for McClen (46)   Chopra for McMenamin (62) Richard Offiong for Coppinger (62)
Subs not used:
Steve Boon Neil Crute Mel Harmison		Aaron Labonte Pedro Dimas
Bookings:
None		None
Referee: D.A.McCallum. Reasonable game, assisted by a female linesman.
Attendance: 1,144.

14 mins A deserved opening goal by Christian Graham, who shot home from near the penalty spot after Gary Caldwell had been caught dwelling on the ball by the alert terriers strikers. Seconds before, the same player had seen his effort saved by Karelse.1-0 

43 mins After striking the bar from the restart after the opening goal, Colin McMenamin was handily placed to divert Gavilan's low wayward shot past the keeper from 10 yards. 1-1 

Half time: Bedlington Terriers 1 Newcastle Reserves 1

79 mins Having rolled his shot on the post earlier, Stuart Green found himself in more dangerous positions as the game went on, and his prompting down the left eventually saw a throw in won. Ramage quickly restarted play and Green turned the ball into the area for Chopra to run on to it and convert his first reserve goal, with a low shot into the bottom right hand corner. 2-1 

89 mins The victory was sealed when Richard Offiong also opened his reserve goalscoring account in a similar fashion to Chopra, Green again the provider. 3-1 

Full time: Bedlington Terriers 1 Newcastle Reserves 3

A contented Tommy Craig commented afterwards:

"That really was a hard-earned victory. I felt it was a very evenly-contested game, we perhaps shaded it second-half but there were chances at both ends and if we'd stepped off the pedal at all we would have lost the game.

"Even up until the last ten minutes, it was still anyone's game. We've got to praise Bedlington, they've got themselves another good side together.

"I was pleased with the likes of Chopra, Offiong and Peter Rampage involved in a tough, competitive game. We had to dig in for the win, it was a real character test, but we passed it.

"Offiong and Chopra came on to give us fresh legs. They have the ability to create chances and they work well together as a double act. I was tempted to bring just one on at a time. Colin and Jamie had created chances in the first half and I just decided to bring the pair of them on - they're a double act - and it paid off for us. Coppinger and McMenamin created some good openings for us in the first-half and Michael and Richard did the same late on.

"As he did at Blackburn, he (Karelse) kept us in the game. His contribution was absolutely vital. Even when we went 2-1 up I felt Bedlington could have scored another. In the end I was delighted we managed to keep the pressure up and win the trophy for the third year."

Three Senior Cup finals in three years, three different venues - and three wins for Newcastle.

After the last final against Blue Star - a one-sided affair at Kingston Park - the credibility of United's involvement in this competition was open to discussion, especially after the 11-0 thrashing of Ponteland in the semi final that preceded this tie.

Happily a competitive occasion at Croft Park provided good entertainment for those present, and a genuine match to watch, rather than a glorified training session for the Magpies.Top marks to the Terriers for a full-throttle effort that pressed United back for long periods, forced errors and hasty clearances and shrank one or two inflating ego's. Even at 2-1 United didn't look really comfortable until the last minute, and extra time remained a possiblity until Offiong's late clincher. Given that the Terriers played on Saturday and are in action again on Wednesday, they probably weren't too bothered about having to raise themselves for an extra half hour.

The headlines will of course be hogged by the substitute pair of Chopra and Offiong, who were both on target to claim the silverware. However, for significant parts of the game there was very little between the sides with the Northern League outfit more efficient and economical with their passing, while their professional counterparts laboured and threatened to be knocked out of their stride.

A well-grassed pitch hid an uneven surface below, and initially Newcastle were frustrated in their attempts to play their usual midfield passing game. By contrast Bedlington seemed more at home with the pitch and pressed forward from the off. One goal was never really going to be enough for them to hold, and although they struck early, some wayward finishing and good work from Karelse in the United goal meant that McMenamin's equaliser paved the way for United to move away after the break.

Despite some more good work from Terriers in the second half, a second goal wasn't forthcoming and is often the case in games of this nature, fitness became an increasing factor in the final 20 minutes. By then United had reshuffled their pack with their second choice striking lineup, and the alertness and pace of Chops and Offy overcame the tiring Bedlington defence. If the pressure wasn't on the first choice reserve strikers Coppinger and McMenamin before, then these two goals will have served notice that their time could be short.

So, all in all a decent night's entertainment at one of the most atmospheric non-league grounds in the area, if not the country. A damn sight more enjoyable than the wide open spaces of Kingston Park....

The only sour notes were struck by the posters advertising an upcoming Spartans v mackems fundraising game, and some grotesque pictures of Kevin Phillips on sale in the bar - almost put me off me pint. On a more serious note, one or two politically incorrect comments from the crowd were aimed at Bernard - unacceptable at any level, be it Premiership or non-league.
 
Biffa 

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