Ipswich's seven game unbeaten run came to an end when they went down 2-1 to Newcastle United. A brace from Alan Shearer was enough to take the points for the Geordies, after going behind to a Marcus Stewart goal. It was a rather lack lustre performance from Town, who conceded this defeat far too easily, showing little of the battling qualities which have been so evident this season. This eagerly awaited fixture against Newcastle saw former Ipswich legend manager Bobby Robson come up against his former club for the 1st time since leaving to take on the thankless task of managing England. Oh, Newcastle also have a player who once used to turn out for us, when he wasn't patronising the local nightclub scene. Robson's former coach at Ipswich, Charlie Woods, is also currently on the Newcastle pay roll. George Burley saw fit to make a couple of changes to the team which triumphed midweek against Arsenal. Richard Naylor was perhaps surprisingly recalled ahead of David Johnson and last-gasp goal hero James Scowcroft, while Mark Venus was preferred instead of Titus Bramble at the heart of defence. The early running was made by mainly Newcastle, anxious to end their recent goal famine at St James Park. Both teams showed their flowing attacking passing game but Ipswich were reduced attacking on the break. Ipswich stunned the large crowd when Marcus Stewart scored his 6th goal of the season. Herman Hreidarsson burst down the left wing and swung in a perfect cross that found Jermaine Wright in a goal scoring position. Jamma had two bites of cherry, before the ball fell to Stewart who tapped in from six yards. The goal sent the Ipswich travelling fans celebrating a goal that had been slightly against the run of play. The goal stimulated Newcastle, as they could sense their fans beginning to feel uneasy. All the noise so far had been coming from the 2,200 away fans tucked high away in the Sir John Hall stand. Another good away following had made the long trek up North from Suffolk, and they were certainly making the most of it. The lead was short lived however, as ten minutes later the Magpies were on level terms. Newcastle equalised when Alan Shearer broke and hammered the ball home. He looked to be in an off side position when he beat the flat back four, but the lino kept his flag down. It awakened the silent Newcastle hoards, as they celebrated the long awaited goal. With the crowd now in full voice we all expected a Newcastle onslaught to the half time whistle, but it never materialised. Ipswich battled hard for every ball in a bid to slow the pace down, and even had a couple of scoring opportunities, with Magilton and Hreidarsson both coming close to scoring. Matty Holland so nearly scored with a bullet header that had Given well and truly beaten. But our old friend Dyer was standing on the line to clear the ball. This was something Burley taught the boy to do at Ipswich, and it was interesting to see Robson has employed the same tactics for the youngster at corner pieces. Half time: Newcastle 1, Ipswich 1. Newcastle started the 2nd period the brighter of the two teams. Kieron Dyer was running all over the park, being involved in much of Newcastle's play. The Ipswich born and bred youngster was obviously doing his up most to impress against his former club and supporters, and wanted desperately to put one over them. After 59 minutes Burley made a complete change to his attacking formation, when he brought on Johnson and Scowcroft in place of Stewart and Naylor. At the same time Colchester old boy and former Ipswich target Lua Lua came to thunderous applause from the home crowd. Shearer grabbed his second from the penalty spot after going down himself to a Venus challenge. It was an unfortunate incident, as Shearer was heading away from goal. Venus slid in and up-ended the former England marksman. It was an unnecessary fowl from Venus, who up until then had been having a good game. The referee had no choice but to point to the spot, and Shearer predictably made no mistake, sending Richard Wright the wrong way. Martijn Reuser was thrown on in an attempt to salvage something from the game, but was unable to get into the game and have the same impact he had had on the midweek game at Arsenal. Jon Mcgreal then found himself unusually in a goal scoring position. He took a long pass down well, but tried to lob the keeper, when belting the ball would have been the wiser option. Scowcroft had probably Ipswich's best chance of an equaliser, when he fired over the bar when he should really have hit the target after being fed from another good cross from Wilnis. With seconds left, Ipswich won a free kick in a dangerous position, when Magilton was hauled down. Mark Venus stepped up, and cracked a good effort, which beat the wall, but unfortunately went straight to Shay Given. The final whistle was greeted with a huge cheer from the relieved Newcastle fans.

Final Score: Newcastle 2, Ipswich 1. So, the good run finally comes to an end, although this defeat away from Newcastle is by no means a disaster. It took an off side looking goal and a penalty to derail the Ipswich bandwagon. We were due a bad result, and should get too despondent, as we will certainly have a few more. What was disappointing though, was the manner of the defeat. This was by far our worst performance of the season, and the team never really imposed their attacking football like they have done so often. Newcastle were certainly no great shakes either, but did not have too work too hard for their long awaited home victory. After going behind it should have signalled a fight back, but the boys just didn't look interested today, and appeared resigned to losing, showing little urgency. Maybe we are expecting too much these days, as we really shouldn't expect to come to clubs like Newcastle and win. We are 6th in the table, which is still a tremendous achievement. Hopefully this loss will serve to keep the Town players on their toes. The important thing will be to bounce back well from this defeat, and not let moral drop.

From The Terrace