Reds Win Latest Newcastle Classic After Injury Time Rio Ngumoha Winner

- - Matches

Newcastle United LogoLiverpool don’t really have a huge rivalry with Newcastle, although that could change if they can somehow pull off the Alexander Isak deal. The clubs are united by players and managers such as Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish, as well as a dislike of Man United and Jordan Pickford!

But somehow there is just something a little special when the teams meet and over the years it has helped produce some truly cracking contests. The first classic happened well over 100 years ago, so there won’t be many alive today who have even heard about it from relatives who might have been at Anfield on the 4th of December 1909!

First and Still the Best?

For all the amazing matches we have seen between these two teams in the Premier League era alone, this first goalfest may actually be the most thrilling of the lot. The Reds won 6-5 in the end, and it is safe to say that any game that sees 11 goals is likely to be rather exciting.

Liverpool Score Newcastle
0-1 Jimmy Howie 1′
Jimmy Stewart 2′ 1-1
1-2 Albert Shepherd 20′
1-3 Albert Shepherd 25′
Jack Parkinson 28′ 2-3
2-4 Albert Shepherd 43′
2-5 Albert Shepherd 44′
Jack Parkinson 48′ 3-5
Ron Orr 63′ 4-5
Ron Orr 70′ 5-5
Arthur Goddard 80′ 6-5

This one was particularly thrilling because the home team fought back from a 5-2 deficit at the break, scoring four unanswered goals in the second period to claim victory. Newcastle’s Albert Shepherd bagged a first-half quadruple and still ended up on the losing side! Ronaldo got two for Liverpool… oh, sorry, no Ronald Orr did. Jack Parkinson also got two, with Jimmy Stewart scoring after just two minutes. That was actually an equaliser after the Magpies had taken the lead through Jimmy Howie in the first minute, but it was a goal from Arthur Goddard with 10 minutes left that ensured Liverpool took the points.

2025 Clash One to Remember but Maybe not for the Football

Fast-forwarding almost 116 years to the most recent clash, and we again saw Liverpool edge a thrilling goalfest by a single strike. This time the fixture took place at St James’ and the score finished 3-2. The match was given a whole heap of added spice thanks to the Reds’ desire to extricate Isak from the North East and the player’s desire, openly shown, to make the move.

The atmosphere was, shall we say, lively. A Newcastle tackle, of which there were many, was greeted from the stands like a goal, while a corner raised a cheer one might expect from a last-minute winner. Liverpool players were being jeered, and the hostile atmosphere helped the home side dominate from the off.

The hosts could not create too many in the way of real chances, though, and they only had one shot on target in the first half. That was as many as Liverpool. But Arne Slot’s men scored with theirs. After 35 minutes, totally and utterly against the run of play, Ryan Gravenberch’s fine strike from range nestled into the bottom corner.

The crowd were briefly quietened but Newcastle continued to have the better of things before a moment of madness from former Everton man – but childhood Red – Anthony Gordon seemed to end the game of the contest. He lunged in on Virgil van Dijk and the ref rightly overturned his own yellow after being sent to the monitors, sending Gordon off in first-half stoppage time.

If Eddie Howe gave a rousing half-time team talk that filled his players with hope, that was dashed just 20 seconds into the second period when Hugo Ekitike produced a precise finish to make it 2-0. Game over, surely.

Come now, this is football, and this is Liverpool v Newcastle. Despite being two goals and a man down, cheered on by the still-vocal crowd, Newcastle fought back. Bruno Guimaraes headed home from Tino Livramento’s cross as we approached the hour mark, and the Geordies in the stands dared to dream of a fightback.

Somehow they managed to harry Liverpool in a game that was thrilling, though short on quality. The Reds bossed possession in the second half but Newcastle found an equaliser through young Dane William Osula. The 22-year-old looked good, having come from the bench and with just two minutes left, he scored what many surely thought would be the goal that would earn Newcastle a point.

When 11 minutes of extra time were announced, the crowd inside St James’, both those in black and white and those in red, didn’t quite know whether to cheer or cry. As we have seen so often in this fixture, though, it was Liverpool who would have the last laugh. They did what champions do, and found a way to win a game they could so very, very easily have lost.

With 90+6 on the clock, hugely exciting youngster Rio Ngumoha, not yet 17, replaced Cody Gakpo. He has really captivated Liverpool supporters with some impressive displays this season, but struggled to make too much impact in the hurly burly of this clash. Of course, he only came on in the dying minutes of the game. And he did somehow score the winner!

With time running out, Mo Salah, quiet and frustrated for much of the evening, broke down the right. He crossed and a tired Newcastle had left far too much room for Dominik Szoboszlai in the middle. They had left even more room for Ngumoha, though, and showing his supreme intelligence, Szoboszlai let the ball run through his legs. The youngster made no mistake from 12 yards, curling the ball into the far corner.

The home fans were distraught, but for Slot and co this was a tough banana skin navigated and a brilliant three points in the latest in a long line of thrillers with the Magpies.

Other Classic Clashes

At least from Liverpool’s perspective, if not always Newcastle’s, there have been far too many classic clashes between these teams to detail them all. The two 4-3s in the 1990s are the obvious games to think of. The first of those, which took place in April 1996, is undoubtedly a true classic of the Premier League era, even any era.

That game is often listed among the best EPL games ever, while Reds fans will have also enjoyed the win the following March, even if the football was not quite as dazzling. More recently, the Reds have crushed the Geordies 5-1 at St James’ in 2008 and 6-0 at the same ground in 2013. We love this fixture and can’t wait for the return at Anfield!

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