Villa 1 Newcastle 0 – verdict
Sunday 24th May 2009, 5:59PM BST.
Villa condemed Newcastle to the Championship but missed out on a morale-boosting fifth spot anyway.
And it was a real sickener for the Magpies how the final nail in the coffin came, Gareth Barry’s hopeful effort diverting off the out-streched boot of Damien Duff.
That own goal settled matters in the first half, but in the end was no great help to Martin O’Neill’s men either.
Everton beat Fulham on the final day to secure fifth, so the claret and blue finish sixth – exactly the same climax as last season.
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This may seem strange coming from a Villa fan, but the demise of local rivals West Brom and the fall from grace of Newcastle, with hindsight, I wish WBA had taken 6 points from us and Newcastle 3 yesterday.
I know how it is! 3 down 3 up and you go either way over a full season, not just on a couple of games and no one has the divine right, but I just feel the Premiership would be a much better league with them than without them and I cant help feeling quite sad, that two historicly famous and fantastic clubs have been lost to the Championship.
That said, I feel sure that West Brom will set the Championship alight and come back a lot stronger and better prepared this time, I also think Newcastle will come back too.
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