Lots of Newcastle United fans have been revelling in a throwback clip to the Magpies’ 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns in 2012.
Alan Pardew’s Toon travelled to the West Midlands on March 25 eight years ago looking to build on a 1-0 win at home to Norwich, having struggled for consistency for much of the campaign.
That would not be the case as we faced the Baggies, though, as United produced a performance for the ages over Roy Hodgson’s side and went on to extend our winning run to six league games.
In a display of attacking pace and power, Yohan Cabaye and Demba Ba caused issues throughout but without earning the spoils, as Hatem Ben Arfa and a brace from Papiss Cisse secured all the points.
We would go on to end that year fifth in the Premier League standings and miss out on the top-four by four points, although Champions League qualification only went to the top-three as sixth-placed Chelsea won the UEFA title.
The highlight reel shared on social media from the 3-1 win over Albion brought back many happy memories for some supporters, including those who pointed to the delight of watching Ben Arfa on the field in Black and White.
The Frenchman has become one of the latest athletes to be affected by the coronavirus outbreak, after his current side Real Valladolid were forced to relocate the midfielder as the central government in Spain issued further measures to fight the spread of the virus.
Spain has the second-highest death toll in the world after surpassing China’s total on Wednesday, with more than 3,400 confirmed fatalities amid more than 47,000 cases.
The United Kingdom currently has more than 8,00 confirmed cases and more than 400 fatalities, although the total number of cases is expected to be much higher due to the number of people yet to be tested.
So in these bleak times, watching highlights from when United beat West Brom in such a fashion brought some joy to these fans…
Watching Hatem Ben Arfa play football is good for the soul #NUFC https://t.co/7mYbMjnx2U
— Liam Behan (@lbehan86) March 25, 2020
Great day had by all 😃
— Eric saddler (@ericsaddler2) March 25, 2020
Happy days! https://t.co/85x8mlxsC0
— Maximo Beerbelli (@285tb) March 25, 2020
@mi_hamilton94 limbs in the balloon for this one
— Ben Meynell (@BenMeynell) March 25, 2020
Apart from Arsenal 2011, this is my favourite game of the last 10 years. @CissePapiss @dembabafoot @YCabayeofficiel sensational. #NUFC https://t.co/9K1yjAAtEe
— Matt Rose (@mattrose_11) March 25, 2020
I don’t say this lightly, given our reasomably recent history and the person in charge at the time but that might just be the best 45 minutes of football I’ve seen us play.
— Matt (@mtthwbrggs) March 25, 2020
What a day this was, about 30 degrees watching Ben Arfa, Cisse and Ba run the show https://t.co/jRVNJeZnym
— Rory Mullen (@rorymullen_) March 25, 2020
Imagine if we’d had a proper manager with that team.
— chris (@cbil1984) March 25, 2020
My favourite ever away day. A luxury minibus, disco lights, a bottle of jack, pints and curry in The Vine beforehand and ending up doing knee slides around a pub in Shields with @micknufc. What a day, what a game, crash bang wallop what a video. #nufc https://t.co/4WWML8nnB9
— Taylor Not Besty (@TaylorandBesty) March 25, 2020
In other Newcastle United news, a 28-cap international is open-minded to his future at St. James’ Park.