Newcastle United are holding Manchester United to a goalless draw in this evening's Premier League clash at St James' Park.
The visitors threatened within the first 30 seconds as a slip from Mehdi Abeid allowed Wayne Rooney to put Angel di Maria through on goal, but Fabricio Coloccini was able to get back and clear things up.
In the 10th minute, the Magpies had a penalty shout when Emmanuel Riviere appeared to be brought down by Chris Smalling in the Red Devils box, but referee Anthony Taylor waved away the appeals.
Man Utd continued to push forward following that minor setback and, on the quarter-hour mark, saw Marouane Fellaini fire a shot into the Newcastle defence, with Ander Herrera's follow-up flying narrowly wide.
Rooney nearly opened the scoring in the 27th minute when he collected Ashley Young's ball before lofting a chip over Tim Krul that floated wide of the post.
Not long before the break, Papiss Cisse brought the ball down well before letting up from distance with a shot which flew a yard or so wide in the end.
Ultimately, neither team was able to truly impose itself on the game as the first half ended goalless.
Giuseppe Labellarte
