Newcastle United kicked off another friendly during their tour through Portugal, this time taking on Pacos de Ferreira in a game that started out sloppy and finished up as a 1-1 draw, thanks so some much better play in the second half by some subs.
The Toon seemed to be very short tempered in the game to start, with Steven Taylor picking up an early yellow for a hard tackle that could have done with just a warning, and then shockingly Fabricio Coloccini was sent off with an instant red card for literally strangling one of the Pacos players.
Coloccini with Caetano in the Paços vs Newcastle friendly that ended 1-1. pic.twitter.com/25aRDWfZsB
— Machado (@machadozz) July 23, 2013
Pacos took an early lead on the Toon but things were leveled in the second half with a Shola Ameobi goal, a left-footed strike after a pass into the box from Gouffron.
It was a sloppy game to start with, as mentioned, but some players did have noticeably good games. Mathieu Debuchy in particular seemed to be up and down the right side of the pitch, starting at right back, but playing more like a wing back getting the ball up field. Jonas was also a noticeable difference maker in the second half.
Haris Vuckic came on in the 78th minute and made some key plays, including a save late that sealed the draw.