Club Bruges 2-2 Newcastle

By Gary RoseBBC Sport
Newcastle

Newcastle came back from two goals down to earn a point at Club Bruges and remain top of Europa League Group D.

Ivan Trickovski sent Tim Krul the wrong way with a low effort to open the scoring, before Jesper Jorgensen's weak shot from distance made it 2-0.

Newcastle responded before half-time with Vurnon Anita's superb volley before Shola Ameobi poked in an equaliser minutes later.

Yohan Cabaye's free-kick hit the bar but neither side could find a winner.

With Bordeaux beating Maritimo 1-0 in the other group game, the point keeps Newcastle firmly on course to reach the last 32. They are four points ahead of third-place Club Bruges with two games remaining.

For the first time in 60 years, two brothers started for Newcastle with Shola and Sammy Ameobi named in Alan Pardew's starting line-up - emulating George and Ted Robledo in 1952.

Shola Ameobi was to have a hand in the first-real chance of the game when the striker's smart back-heel put Gabriel Obertan clear, but the French winger's placed shot was too close to Club Bruges keeper Bojan Jorgacevic.

The hosts, looking to end a run of five successive defeats, always looked dangerous on the counter, and it was they who took the lead after 14 minutes.

A long ball from defence was expertly brought under control by Trickovski, who then slipped his way past Fabricio Coloccini and hit a low shot into the net, with Krul having committed himself the wrong way.

That was the first goal Newcastle had conceded in Europe this season, but it was to get even worse for Pardew's men in the 19th minute.

James Tavernier's clearing header went straight to Jorgensen on the edge of the area and the Danish midfielder's effort lacked power, but managed to creep into the far corner.

Newcastle attempted to respond, with Sylvain Marveaux failing to connect with the ball from a good position, before Shola Ameobi saw a header tipped over the bar by Jorgacevic.

It looked as though they were going to head into the break two goals down before they stunned Club Bruges with two goals in as many minutes.

First, Anita struck a superb 41st-minute volley from outside the area for his first Newcastle goal since joining from Ajax, before the Ameobi brothers combined for the visitors's second as Sammy slipped a pass through for Shola and the striker poked the ball into the net.

Newcastle looked to pick up from where they had left off at the start of the second half, with Shola Ameobi twice heading over as the Belgians struggled to contain the striker.

The home side had their chances too, with Krul having to be alert to keep out a scrambled effort from Carlos Bacca before the Colombian rose unmarked to meet a cross but his header flew over the bar.

Cabaye was introduced in the 72nd minute and almost made an immediate impact, with his first contribution being a curled free-kick that bounced back off the crossbar.

The game continued to swing from one end to the other and Krul again prevented Club Bruges from snatching a winner when he pushed over a powerful header from substitute Mohamed Tchite.

The pace of the game lessened as it headed towards a close, although Club Bruges had to defend against a succession of Newcastle corners to ensure the game ended in a draw.

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