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VIEW MATCH REPORT

Sunday 1 Apr 2007
Newcastle United 0 - 1 Manchester City
Manchester City move 6 points clear of relegation zone as Newcastle's slim european hopes lie in tatters.

Newcastle United's slim hopes of European qualification were all-but ended as Manchester City snatched an invaluable victory at St James' Park.
Emile Mpenza, who scored his first goal for the club at Middlesbrough a fortnight ago, struck 10 minutes from time to claim a second win in as many games and further ease the pressure on manager Stuart Pearce.

The Magpies were booed from the pitch by sections of a crowd of 52,004 after a disjointed and uninspired display, although defender Steven Taylor might have snatched a point at the death when his header hit the crossbar.

That would have been harsh on City, who were also denied by the woodwork before the break, after a performance characterised by excellent organisation and total commitment.

By contrast, Newcastle were often wasteful in possession, short on ideas and their lack of firepower in front of goal left their campaign all-but over.

Obafemi Martins and Kieron Dyer started up front but neither player managed to get a grip on the game, with Sylvain Distin and Richard Dunne dominant to the extent that Dyer spent much of the 90 minutes camped on the halfway line desperately trying to get involved.

City, who ended a run of five successive Barclays Premiership defeats with a 2-0 win at Boro, arrived at St James Park determined not to leave empty-handed.

Striker Darius Vassell was asked to play wide on the left of a five-man midfield as Mpenza took on the home defence alone.

However, with Newcastle failing to deal with free man Joey Barton as he repeatedly broke from central midfield, it was City who looked the more likely to break the deadlock.

Indeed, they came closest to the opening goal before the break when Mpenza made the most of hesitancy in the home defence to blast a left-foot shot against the crossbar from 25 yards with Shay Given beaten.

Newcastle skipper Scott Parker had earlier seen a 17th-minute strike ruled out for offside and Nolberto Solano had whistled a long-range effort just wide.

Pearce made a change at the break when he replaced holding midfielder Dietmar Hamann with striker Georgios Samaras, although he kept the same system with the new arrival lining up wide on the right as Sun Jihai moved inside.

Samaras endured a tough opening as Duff prospered down the left, sending in a 48th-minute cross which was just too strong for Martins and Solano and then providing Parker with a chance which he thumped just over the bar.

Dunne headed well over from a 57th-minute Barton corner as City temporarily relieved the pressure, but defensive partner Distin had to make a vital block two minutes later after Duff found Solano at the far post.

There was no faulting Newcastles endeavour as they sought the breakthrough but there was a lack of ideas when they got into the final third with keeper Andreas Isaksson untroubled.

Solano was not enjoying one of his better days and there were calls from the stand for James Milners introduction as he warmed up on the sidelines.

Given saved from Vassell on 71 minutes before Roeder made his first change and replaced Craig Moore with fellow central defender Oguchi Onyewu.

Milner and Antoine Sibierski soon followed as replacements for Dyer and Solano.

There was worse to come though, when Michael Johnson picked out Mpenza in acres of space and he fired gleefully past Given to claim all three points.

Taylor rattled the crossbar with a minute remaining and Stephen Carr and Onyewu both went close to an equaliser, but it was simply not Newcastles day