The fourth official had just signalled that five minutes of stoppage time had been added on at St James' Park. It was the cue for Newcastle United manager Matthias Jaissle to frantically raise his arms up and down on the touchline in an attempt to whip supporters up for one final push. "Sing your hearts out for the lads," the crowd responded.
Newcastle United were 2-1 up against Liverpool, but no one inside the stadium needed reminding of the history of this fixture, which has become synonymous with late drama. Who could forget when Stan Collymore struck late in a 4-3 thriller at Anfield in 1996 to leave Newcastle legend Kevin Keegan slumped over the advertising hoardings? Those memories were still clear on an evening both clubs came together to celebrate such an iconic figure.
No wonder, then, the whistles from the home supporters were deafening as Liverpool launched one final attack, which culminated in substitute Victor Munoz being brought down by a tired Lewis Hall inside the box. Jaissle ripped off his blazer in anguish, having felt it was a "soft" decision from referee Stuart Attwell. Such a feeling clearly informed his post-match address to his players after Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up to equalise from the spot and land a familar late blow in this 2-2 draw.
"I cannot repeat everything because I could get in trouble and may need to pay some fines," Jaissle said in his news conference following a long pause. "But, overall, I told them that I'm really proud of what I saw over the 90 minutes. This is a really top starting point." It was certainly an eventful start, just the sort of topsy turvy fixture Keegan was synonymous with during his time in charge of Newcastle.
How fitting then that the club legend's family and several of his former players, including Alan Shearer, Rob Lee and Tino Asprilla, were among those in the directors' box. They watched on as supporters' group Wor Flags unfurled a huge display before the game, which encompassed every seat in the stadium, including a timely banner in the Gallowgate End. "I want people to dream about their football club," it read.
We should all be dreamers at heart. "Some people are the opposite and say, 'We can't do that'. But when you ask them why, they can't give a reason.
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