Two wonder goals - - The official of Robbie Elliott

Two wonder goals - 15/12/2003

He's built a very respectable side

No reserve matches for a month, were all just concentrating on training. It’s perhaps a good thing as some of the pitches aren’t the best at this time of year and we’ll come back in January refreshed and looking forward to the rest of the season.

I watched Saturday’s game against Spurs and have to say that those goals by Laurent were something else. To be fair to Tottenham I thought they played very well until the second one went in. They were neat and tidy and looked to be holding us quite comfortably…then along came two wonder strikes. You could see the heart drain out if the Spurs when the second went in, they’d done well – but working all week on the training pitch wont help when you come up against two shots like that. After Laurent’s goals went in they just fell apart. Looking at the tiff between Kasey Keller and Dean Richards just goes to show how frustrated they felt – although you can’t help but feel that the friction might have been building between them before they even arrived at Tyneside.

Most people you talk to will say that the second edged the first, that the long-range shot was a little more spectacular. However, the technical ability needed to connect with the first was incredible. Most half decent players can hit volleys and smash a ball in the back of the net, but when Laurent hit the ball he had to overcome the fact that firstly he was stretching, and secondly he came at the ball from a slight angle.

Goal of the month? I think they’ll both come in the top two! But it wasn’t a big surprise to see the Frenchman hit those shots, we see him do it in training on a regular basis – but there’s doing it in training and doing it during matches!

We now have Charlton away – a tough game as Alan Curbishley has got them playing some excellent stuff. With Titus suspended and Woody out with a hamstring, my guess is that Stevie Caldwell will partner OB in the centre, and the gaffer will bring Dabi in on the bench. We can win done there, but it won’t be easy.