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In a physical first half Duberry got too close and received a

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In a physical first half, Duberry got too close and received a caution for his efforts. But otherwise the former England captain was relatively subdued in the first period and it was Bellamy who proved the more dangerous, shooting over, then sending a raking shot-cum-cross across the goal which had Nigel Martyn grasping air.Then Nolberto Solano's free-kick clipped the far post, with the assistance of Shearer, but the referee had already blown for a foul in the area. For all Newcastle's possession their opportunities were limited. Gary Speed was presented with one inviting chance, but he spurned it wastefully.Jonathan Woodgate was booked for bringing Dyer to the floor and David Batty soon followed him It was becoming an epidemic. Bellamy was cautioned for diving when tackled fairly by Duberry, greasy surface. But, with a minute remaining, Newcastle scored the goal their endeavours deserved when Bellamy's cross was headed into his own goal by Duberry.After the break, Newcastle maintained the impetus provided by their goal.

Duberry, by now a sorry figure, allowed Bellamy through but the Welshman was denied by Martyn However, that was merely delaying the inevitable. On the hour, Solano's chip was cleverly chested down by Bellamy into the path of speeding Dyer who, dissecting the visitors' defence, put the chance away as smoothly as the watching Eriksson might have expected.O'Leary sent on Jason Wilcox for Seth Johnson to add some attacking verve, but to no great avail, and it was only when Mills took the long walk that Leeds suddenly looked capable of finding an equaliser. Smith and Viduka, who had toiled valiantly without reward, looked like levelling the match but Given saved from both in quick succession.The visitors were made to rue those missed chances three minutes from time when Bellamy burst clear like a young fox eluding tiring hounds and dispatched the ball clinically past Martyn. And it was thoroughly merited on an afternoon when Newcastle demonstrated that they remain prime contenders.Newcastle United 3 Duberry og 44, Dyer 60, Bellamy 87Leeds United 1 Smith 1Half-time: 1-1 Attendance: 52,130. The final whistle was greeted with the euphoria normally reserved for winning a Cup final. Relief burst out of Goodison Park as Everton ended a run of five consecutive League defeats with a heart-pumping victory.

But nerves should have been so much less frayed for the hard-pressed Walter Smith. Having spurned enough chances to have the game wrapped up by half-time, Everton had to hang on to the slender lead given to them by Jesper Blomqvist's second Premiership goal ­ the first also came at Goodison Park, for Manchester United ­ and his first for more than three years. Everton had to survive a frenetic finale to an unduly significant mid-table tie before their manager could begin to breathe once more."With the chances we created, we shouldn't have had to worry as much as we did at the end," admitted Smith. "But everyone has to have mental toughness in this part of the League because the margins of error are so slender." For his opposite number, Peter Reid, there was only more misery. Sunderland have always been short of class, but their confidence is equally low, as Reid acknowledged. A paltry total of six goals away from home tells of Sunderland's chronic lack of imagination "We are short in the attacking department," said Reid.

"We need to get our confidence and belief back." And quickly On this form, they could be candidates for relegation. "Reidy: the winner returns" ­ a headline on the front of the Everton programme would have produced a bout of nostalgia around Goodison Park and irrepressible mirth in the North-east.Everton's victory owed much to the Scandinavian partnership of Blomqvist and Niclas Alexandersson, who ran the Sunderland defence ragged in the first half and combined for the goal. But the true blue orchestrator was the more familiar figure of Paul Gascoigne, whose influence grew the longer the game went on. He was still harrying, chasing and gesticulating as the referee, David Elleray, blew for full time. A run of similar performances and a World Cup place will no longer just be a figment of Gascoigne's considerable imagination "I don't tell him to forget about it," said Smith "I just keep telling him to stop talking about it. I don't think he can expect to be there, but it's not up to a Scot to tell a Swede who to pick for England."No one could fault Smith's nerve. One more defeat and Everton would have suffered their worst run in five years "Torture to watch," as Kevin Campbell said.

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