A Kevin Nolan hat-trick and a freekick from Ryan Taylor condemned Town to a 4-0 home defeat to Newcastle United on the day the North Stand was rechristened the Sir Bobby Robson Stand in honour of the clubs’ former manager. Three goals in four minutes around the half hour all but settled the game.
Prior to the game wreaths were placed by representatives from both clubs on the statue of Robson in Portman Road with the memorabilia laid by fans in the weeks after the legendary boss’s death restored to the surrounding railings.
Former members of Robson’s Town teams were introduced to the crowd before both sets of fans joined in the singing of Abide With Me and a minute’s applause.
Current manager Roy Keane made four changes to his starting line-up with Pim Balkestein, Tamás Priskin, Liam Trotter and Jack Colback coming in for Tommy Smith, Pablo Couñago, Alan Quinn and Lee Martin. The Blues switched to a 4-5-1 formation with Priskin up front on his own, Walters wide on the left and Trotter behind Colback and Grant Leadbitter in the centre.
The game started in a frenetic cup-tie-like manner with Newcastle’s Nile Ranger forcing the first save of the match from Richard Wright on four, the Blues keeper getting down to his left to push away the striker’s low shot from the edge of the area.
On 11 Tamás Priskin almost got a toe on the end of a Grant Leadbitter freekick, prior to Richard Wright rushing off his line to the right of his goal and closing down Andy Carroll, who shot into the sidenetting.
Kevin Nolan was yellow-carded on 22 for a foul on Liam Trotter, then Grant Leadbitter hit a 25-yard freekick into an on-rushing Newcastle wall which was only a couple of feet away from him when he struck the ball.
The game had been a decent enough contest for the first 29 minutes with the Blues playing some good stuff at times, although as so often this season without creating too much of note in front of goal.
However, on 29 this season’s other great frailty was again very much in evidence. Ryan Taylor sent in a freekick from the right and Kevin Nolan rose unmarked to head powerfully beyond Richard Wright.
Two minutes later, Newcastle were two in front. Nolan escaped from Balkestein down the left, cut inside the Dutchman, then slipped the ball past Richard Wright.
Town probably didn’t deserve to be two goals down but in the 33rd minute it got even worse. Ryan Taylor was given the chance to take one of his trademark freekicks 25 yards out on the left and whipped the ball over the wall and past Richard Wright’s left hand.
Three goals in four minutes had ended the game as a contest and unsurprisingly Town heads dropped, both on and off the field.
Alex Bruce was booked for hauling back Carroll on 35, injuring his groin in the process. Tommy Smith replaced the Town skipper three minutes later, Jon Walters taking the armband.
Newcastle could have made it four before the break when an unmarked Ranger headed goalwards, only for Wright to get across to push the ball wide.
Half-time saw the former players tour the pitch with a large banner featuring Sir Bobby Robson’s face. Both sets of fans joined in the singing of My Way, before Lady Robson, flanked two of her and Sir Bobby’s sons, cut a ribbon in the centre circle to mark the renaming of the North Stand. The outside of the stand now bears Robson’s face with the legend Sir Bobby Robson Stand both inside and out.
A number of academy players handed the banner over to fans in the newly renamed stand while 709 balloons were released marking all Robson’s games in charge of Town.
Jon Walters headed an early Carlos Edwards cross over, but the Blues’ defeat to the side Robson managed at the end of his career was cemented on 50 when Nolan completed his hat-trick, following in Ranger’s header across goal.
The visitors saw out the rest of the game with few moments of concern. Jaime Peters replaced Damien Delaney at left-back, then Pablo Couñago took over from Tamás Priskin.
Former Blue Marlon Harewood, who joined Newcastle on loan from Aston Villa on Friday, came on in the 64th minute, just prior to Pim Balkestein launching a rare Town shot from 30 yards out into the South Stand.
In the 75th minute Nolan looped the ball over Richard Wright but Tommy Smith headed away from inside the six-yard box. Moments later, the Town keeper was out to block at Harewood’s feet with the ex-West Ham man looking keen to make an impression on his debut for his new club.
Harewood had an opportunity to mark his first appearance for the Magpies with a goal in the 84th minute when Carlos Edwards gave away possession but again Wright was on hand to save.
On 87 Edwards sent in a long throw which Couñago scrambled through to the all but forgotten Newcastle keeper Steve Harper. After a late yellow card for Jon Walters for a frustrated looking lunge, Town’s defeat was confirmed by the final whistle.
The gulf between the Blues and the relegated former Premier League sides was again in evidence, as it was at West Brom and to a lesser extent at Middlesbrough. After a first half hour which promised a much closer game, the three goals in four minutes took the match completely away from Town with Newcastle looking a class above for the remaining hour and the Blues never looked like getting even a consolation.
Again Town conceded poor goals at the back and, even in the early period of the game, created little in front of goal, although Tamás Priskin put in what was probably his brightest performance for Town up to now.
But overall, the Blues still look light years behind the likes of Newcastle and West Brom, who appear all but certain to run away with the Championship this season, and as yet have shown only slight glimpses which indicate that they might be amongst the chasing pack come May.
Town’s ninth game without a victory makes it the worst start to a season in the club’s 73-year professional history and the Blues are only kept off the bottom of the table by Plymouth, with Tuesday’s fixture at Sheffield United looking unlikely to bring that elusive win.
Town: R Wright, Rosenior, Delaney (Peters 59), Bruce (Smith 38), Balkestein, Leadbitter, Colback, Trotter, Edwards, Walters, Priskin (Couñago 59). Unused: Lee-Barrett, Martin, Quinn, Stead. Att: 27,059.