Football’s Greatest Goals No.44
If you type ‘Newcastle 5’ into Google or YouTube, the predictive text suggestions that pop up immediately comes up with ‘Newcastle 5 Manchester United 0’.
The game was a one-sided demolition by Newcastle United, who on one glorious Sunday afternoon in October 1996 looked as if they could take on the world.
Newcastle were 12 points clear of Manchester United at one point the previous season and were looking certs for the Premier League title. Sadly for the Toon Army’s loyal fans, their team’s form nosedived and Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United ruthlessly won game after game and overtook them at the top of the table and won the championship. They added the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Wembley to complete an impressive Double.
In the summer Newcastle went out and smashed the British transfer record, signing local boy Alan Shearer from Blackburn Rovers for £15 million. Alex Ferguson had been keen to bring the England striker to Old Trafford, but Shearer opted to join his hometown club.
Manchester United smashed Newcastle 4-0 in the Charity Shield at Wembley. A week later, they lost 2-0 away to Everton on the opening day of the season.
In their first home game of the season, Alan Shearer scored his first goal for the club in a 2-0 win over Wimbledon. He scored in the next game at home to Sheffield Wednesday but the Magpies lost 2-1.
After the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle then went on to win the next six games before facing Manchester United at home on Sunday 20th October. Everyone expected a closely-fought match between two great teams. The match was anything but close. It was a trouncing.
Darren Peacock put Newcastle in front from a header with a goal that had a touch of good fortune about it. His header was cleared away by Dennis Irwin who was stood on the Manchester United goal line. The match officials gave the goal, thinking that the ball had crossed the line. Television footage shows that it may not have done and Manchester United were cheated.
David Ginola added a second before the break with a thunderbolt from the edge of the penalty area. Les Ferdinand scored Newcastle’s third just after the hour mark with a header that bounced in off the underside of the bar.
Alan Shearer fired in a fourth on 75 minutes from close range after a fine double save from Peter Schmeichel, but the best was yet to come.
Of the eight goals that Phillipe Albert scored in the black and white of Newcastle, none were as special as the fifth goal against Manchester United.
Rob Lee and David Batty exchanged a quick one-two at the right-hand corner of the penalty area. Lee looked up and spotted Albert standing on his own and unmarked 35 yards from goal.
The Belgian international pushed the ball forward before immediately looking up for options. He spotted Peter Schmeichel was stood outside his six-yard box and started to run forward. David Beckham closed in on him from the right and David May also rushed forward to block a shot.
Beckham got nowhere near Albert who chipped the ball perfectly over the on-rushing David May and high over Peter Schmeichel. The Danish goalkeeper watched the ball as it sailed over him and dropped nicely under the crossbar into the back of the net.
It was a perfect goal and was the archetypal goal that would secure the football cliché of “the icing on the cake”.
The fact that it was scored past such a great goalkeeper made it all the more beautiful. Schmeichel’s feet were firmly planted in the St James’s Park turf and he looked as if he was watching a plane fly overhead as the ball went over him. He was well and truly beaten.
Despite losing 5-0, Manchester United won the league that season by seven points. Newcastle finished as runners up, seven points behind the champions. It is their highest league finish to date. The victory lives long in the memory of the Newcastle United faithful and reminds them all of a time where they were the most exciting team to watch in the country.
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