West Brom 1 Newcastle United 1

Aug 9 2009 by Neil Farrington, Sunday Sun

ON THE day when they woke up to the sobering reality of life in the Championship, Newcastle discovered some Dutch courage.

On an occasion which marked the death of one black and white legend, a star was born.

And this morning, for United and their magnificent, matchless travelling fans, life doesn’t seem quite so Krul.

Sir Bobby Robson tugged at the heartstrings, Alan Shearer will hog the headlines, Mike Ashley got the bird and the scoresheet bore the name of Damien Duff.

But goalkeeper Tim Krul was the hero of the hour – or three quarters of an hour – at The Hawthorns.

With Steve Harper left concussed after a first-half which belonged to the Baggies, Krul’s knock-out performance in the second period saw Newcastle come off the canvas to claim a point.

Four stunning saves from the 21-year-old on his maiden league appearance for United spared the blushes of older heads in front of him.

And along with astonishing agility, Krul also displayed that most crucial of qualities – luck – to keep United on terms after Damien Duff’s classy 55th-minute equaliser.

Deep into injury-time, Krul missed his punch from a harshly-awarded free kick and Jonas Olsson headed home.

The offside Jonas Olsson, as it turned out.