Two old heads are better than one

We're through to the UEFA Cup semi-final, but as per usual the team didn't half make those of us sat in the stands sweat right until the death.

Following the 1-1 draw in Eindhoven last week, we had an away goal under our belt and a slender advantage over PSV going into Wednesday night's return leg on Tyneside. The early nerves were soon settled by Shearer, whose ninth minute near-post header from a Robert corner had us all dreaming of further progress in the competition. Though we created the best of the chances throughout the first half, two fell to the wrong people (Hughes and Bramble), while Bellamy hit the side netting and Jenas hit a shot straight at Waterreus. I was rather uneasy at the warmth of the applause which greeted the players as they came off the pitch at the break - despite having had the better of things in attacking areas, our midfield never seemed to have got to grips with theirs.

The opening period of the second half merely confirmed my fears. The Journal, a paper which seems to have the unerring ability to tempt fate and prompt disaster, had that very morning been talking of Bernard ousting Lizerazu from the left-back spot in the French national squad - so it was inevitable that it would be his poor control and ill-judged (though malice-free) tackle that allowed Mateja Kezman to level the tie from the penalty spot. (Kezman received a less than rapturous reception all night, but then I'm sure most of us would love to welcome him back in the summer and see him in a black and white shirt.)

It could have got worse shortly afterwards, had Bramble not been penalised for an even more insane lunge (though it was at least just outside the area), but thankfully the presence of Woodgate once again helped to steady the ship and we were soon back in front, thanks to another header from a corner, this time scored by Gary Speed, right in front of yours truly. The rest of the half was decidedly uncomfortable, as their midfielders, and Mark van Bommel in particular, continued to dominate proceedings. It didn't help, of course, that Robert seemed to think that his two perfectly-flighted corners should suffice as a contribution to the team effort, and consequently continually drifted ineffectually infield and took every opportunity show off that incredible style of movement that's halfway between a jog and a walk. He really should patent it as his own.

For the closing stages I was possibly more nervous than I've ever been - we all knew that if PSV were to grab a second equaliser on the night, there'd be no coming back and we'd be dumped out on our arses on the away goals rule. Somehow, though, we held out and now look forward to a mouthwatering semi-final tie against Marseille, conquerors of Liverpool in an earlier round. It's going to be extremely tough, and we can't keep relying on our new-found prowess from set pieces to get us through, impressive as it is surprising after years of wastefulness. There has to be more guile from our midfield, and a greater variety about our forward play - continually hitting Shearer with long balls to flick on to Bellamy won't fox the best teams, as it didn't PSV.

The match drew a near capacity crowd, and as is not always the case at St James's these days, the atmosphere throughout was fantastic. (Also in attendance was fellow blogger and Toon fan BykerSink - you can read his thoughts by clicking on the link.) Special mention must go to the small (ie 4 or 5 year old) boy sat next to me, who, despite not knowing any of the chants, spent much of the match carefully watching his dad, copying his arm movements and clapping at the same time. Let's just hope he wasn't paying quite so much attention to what was coming out of his dad's mouth, particularly those comments reserved for the referee - if he was, then his vocabulary has probably expanded tenfold...

(Thanks to Martin for alerting me to the following marvellous piece of commentary from ITV2's coverage of the match: "Gary Speed is an exemplary example". He is indeed.)