Newcastle United grab 3 points in the Sir Bobby Robson Derby
- Sports Travel Tom
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
David Kelly joins me as Newcastle United get back to winning ways against Ipswich
Sunday 26th April, 2025
Back to St James' Park today for the visit of Ipswich Town, a Club Newcastle United's former manager, Sir Bobby Robson, managed for 13 years. These two Clubs adore the man, and his statue on arrival at St James' Park is quite rightly adorned with both Ipswich and Newcastle scarfs for today's match.
Having returned from my Mallorca trip on Wednesday night, which also included a 24 hour stop in Barcelona to catch a Barcelona game at the city's Olympic Stadium, it's always nice to be back at St James' Park.
Even with my many journeys to sporting events, and countless football games around the world, I've yet to find a stadium as centrally located in a city centre as much as St James' Park is. It is special.
Although I have to say, during my time watching RCD Mallorca play at home in Palma de Mallorca last week and nipping off to a Barcelona game too, I found one of the best pre-match atmospheres I've ever experienced and a pre-match bar that is by far the best one I have been too. You can read more about those experiences here.
Anyway, back to Newcastle!
A fairly straightforward victory, although Ipswich made it difficult for us with good defending and sitting deep, exactly the kind of match we have struggled in this season.
A penalty, however at the end of the first-half scored by Alexander Isak saw us get the breakthrough, and as Ipswich had already had a player sent off we would never look back after that.
The first half was incredibly entertaining as we tried to find the back of the net. For all of us sat within the Wings section the goal-mouth action at the Leazes end was brilliant fun during the first 45 minutes.
In the second half, Dan Burn with his first Premier League goal of the season and then William Osula with his first ever Premier League goal secured the win and it was brilliant to see them both score.
All in all, it sends us back to third in the Premier League with four games remaining. It's almightily tight in the league as Newcastle, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Aston Villa all fight to get into Europe's elite competition, the Champions League next season.
I think Newcastle will make it. I can see us winning our two remaining home games, as well as picking up a point or two at Brighton and Arsenal.
To be honest, I would not be surprised if we won all four remaining fixtures. When this team has gone on a run this season it has done so with brilliant consistency.
My match day guest for the game was Newcastle United legend, David Kelly, and whilst the word ;legend' can be overused at times, it's very true for Kelly. He arguably scored the most important goal in the Newcastle' history.
It was 1992 and Kevin Keegan had become manager of Newcastle United with the Club dangerously close to relegation. If relegation had happened, Newcastle United would find themselves in the third tier of English football, and if that had happened, who knows what may have transpired after that.
In the penultimate game of the season against Portsmouth that season it was nothing short of a must-win match for Newcastle. Lose and relegation was all but confirmed. Nerves echoed around St James' during the game, little could you imagine at that stage the expansion of the stadium in the decades to come and the likes of PSG rocking up.
Into the last 10 minutes at 0-0 and it was beginning to look like a sorry state of affairs. But then, Kelly pounced on a Mick Quinn knock down and scored the winner late on at the Gallowgate end and we survived, despite coming awfully close to oblivion.
The next season, Keegan spearheaded the team to promotion to the Premier League and the rest is history.
Kelly in that promotion winning season scored many of the goals that fired us to the title, including a hat-trick on the last day of the season against Leicester as Newcastle United won 7-1. The Club's new striker also scored a hat-trick that day, Andy Cole.
It would prove to be Kelly's last appearance for Newcastle United as Peter Beardsley was brought in to help the team dive head first into the Premier League.
Kelly still has the match ball from that day, and recalls his time with Newcastle United with great fondness. He's a pleasure to welcome back to St James' and a delight with the fans who still recognise the magnitude of his contribution to the football club.
A good day all round, although commiserations to Ipswich. The defeat meant they were relegated from the Premier League. A real shame that the fixtures meant it happened with a defeat to Newcastle United but their fans were a delight all day and let's hope they are back in the Premier League at the earliest opportunity.