Newcastle unbeaten in first division

Press, 3 September 1984, Page 26

Newcastle unbeaten in first division

NZPA-Reuter London Newcastle, which last won the English soccer championship more than 50 years ago, boasted this season’s only 100 per cent record in the first division after beating Aston Villa, 3-0, at the week-end. The two sides had gone into the top-of-the-table clash at St James Park with maximum points from two matches. However, once Chris Waddle had given Newcastle, which was promoted from second division last season, the lead in •the forty-eighth minute, the result was never in doubt.

Peter Beardsley scored a second goal in the seventyseventh minute and Waddle rubbed salt into- the wound with another, ■ five minutes later.

Liveipool, seeking a fourth successive title, continues to struggle to put its house in order in these early -days of the season.

The Ireland international, Ronnie Whelan, saved it from its first home defeat by Queen’s Park Rangers with a goal in the eighty-second minute. It equalised a goal Wayne Fereday scored two minutes after the break.

■ Newcastle .heads the table with nine points, two clear of Tottenham, whose comfortable 3-1 home win over Norwich took its goals tally to nine. Its marksmen were Tony Galvin, John Chiedozie and Mark Falco.

The London club is followed by West Bromwich, .Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, all on six points. Peter Davenport scored all of Forest’s goals — the season’s first hat-trick in the first division — in the 3-1 home win over Sunderland, and West Bromwich crushed the previously unbeaten Luton 4-0.

Big-spending Manchester United, the side most fancied to end Liverpool’s run of success in the league, is still seeking its first win of the season after drawing 1-1 at Ipswich. United took the lead in the thirty-third minute through a header bv the Welsh international, Mark Hughes, and it held the advantage until the seventy-third minute when the, substitute, Alan Sunderland,' scored with a diving header. Arsenal, another side tipped to challenge for the title, scored a welcome first win of the season at Watford, though it squandered a 2-0 lead before edging home 4-3. The Scottish international,

Charlie Nicholas, made amends for missing a penalty in the 2-0 mid-week defeat by Nottingham Forest by grabbing two of the Arsenal goals. West Ham was another London club able to celebrate its first league win of the season. It came at the expense of Southampton, the runner-up to Liverpool last season, which slips to bottom of the table. Paul Goddard set up West Ham’s 3-2 away victory with two first-half headed goals. Stoke, the only side without a point before the week-end, sent its fans home happy. It beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 despite playing with 10 men from the sixty-fourth minute when Paul Dyson was sent off for butting the former Stoke striker, Lee Chapman. The referee, Tony Ward, was forced to halt Coventry’s home match with Leicester after only two’ minutes because of an invasion of the pitch which resulted in brawling between rival fans.

The game was'restarted 10 minutes later after the Coventry manager, Bobby Gould, had appealed to the fans to behave and his side went on to win 2-0, the former England striker, Bob Latchford, scoring one of the goals. The defending champion, Aberdeen, continues to set the {>ace in the Scottish premier eague after beating Hibernian, 4-1, for its fourth successive win. ENGLISH LEAGUE Division one.— Coventry 2, Leicester 0; Ipswich 1, Manchester United 1; Liverpool 1, Queens Park Rangers 1; Newcastle 3, Aston Villa 0; Nottingham Forest 3, Sunderland 1; Southampton 2, West Ham 3; Stoke 2, Sheffield Wednesday 1; Tottenham 3, Norwich 1;. Watford 3, Arsenal 4; West Bromwich 4, Luton 0; Chelsea 0, Everton 1.

Division two.— Barnsley 0,

Oldham 1; Birmingham 4,’ Wimbledon 2; Blackburn 4,j Carlisle 0; Brighton 0, Hudd-. ersfield 1; Charlton 3, Notts' County 0; Lees 3, Wolverhamp-J ton 2; Manchester City 2, Ful-i ham 3; Middlesbrough 1,4 Grimsby 5; Oxford 1, Ports-; mouth 1; Sheffield United 2,j Cardiff 1; Shrewsbury 4, Crys-i tai Palace 1. ? Division three.— Bristol* Rovers 3, Preston 0; Cam-* bridge 1, Mill wall 0; Derby 3,4 Bolton 2; Hull 3, Bournemouth’ 0; Newport 0, Bristol City 0;, Orient 2, Gillingham 4; Ply--mouth 1, Reading 2; Rother- 1 ham 0, Lincoln 0; Swansea I,' York 3; Walsall 0, Brentford 1;, Wigan 1, Bradford 0. Division four.— Aidershot 1,; Chester 2; Blackpool 3, Exeter. 0; Bury 3, Halifax 0; Hartlepool 2, Swindon 2; Hereford 1,; Peterborough 0; Mansfield 5,’ Rochdale 1; Northampton 1,» •Chesterfield 3; Torquay 0,Stockport 0; Tranmere 3,' Crewe 1; Wrexham 1, . Port; Vale 1; Southend v. Darlington, postponed. SCOTTISH LEAGUE Premier division.— Aber- : deen 4, Hibernian 1; Celtic 5,< Morton 0; Dundee 0, Rangers 2;’ Hearts 1, Dumbarton 0; St, Mirren 1, Dundee United 0. i Division one.— Airdrieonians 2, St Johnstone 1; Clyde 0„ Meadowbank 0; Clydebank 0,Hamilton 0; East Fife 1, Ayr 1-,' Forfar 1, Motherwell 2; Kil- ( mamock 1, Brechin 1; Partick. 3, Falkirk 0. Division two.— Dunfermline' 1, Stirling 0; East Sterling I,‘ Alloa 2; Queen of the South 3/ Montrose 1; Queens Park 5,Albion 1; Raith 2, Arbroath O,’ Stenhbusemuir 0, Cowdenbeath.' 4; Stranraer 2, Berwick 0. NORTHERN IRISH LEAGUE Ards 2, Newry 0; Ballymena: 2, Crusaders fr, Cliftonville 1, Linfield 2; Coleraine 1, Distillery 1; Glenavon 3,-Bangor 0; Glentoran ■4, Portadown 1; Larne 1, Carrick Rangers 2.