Newcastle United 3 Plymouth 1

Sep 20 2009 by Sunday Sun

TO paraphrase Paul Whitehouse’s Plymouth fan en route to Newcastle, Andy Carroll has some old poke on him.

Good job too, because without the Gateshead tyro, the Green Army would have had something to show for their Longest Day.

In a team performance which provided more questions than answers, Carroll surely dispelled any lingering doubts over his right to lead Newcastle’s line.

A handful throughout for an already unsettled Argyle back four, the fiery 20-year-old really came good as his team threatened to implode.

Having been pegged back to 1-1 early in the second half after leading through Steven Taylor’s sixth-minute header, the self-doubt created by the Magpies’ midweek defeat at Blackpool was fast evolving into panic.

Had Steve Harper not produced a save for all seasons to prevent Gary Sawyer from giving Plymouth the lead, a wintry chill may well have descended on St James’s Park. But Carroll – with the help of fresh legs from the bench – made good that escape.

First, he had a hand – or a head – in the goal with which Kevin Nolan restored Newcastle’s lead just after the hour.

Then he settled the issue – though not all of United’s issues – with a howitzer of a finish, six minutes from time. And he still had time to go within an inch of woodwork of scoring what would have been the goal of the season so far.

It was stunning showcase of the varied talents of a player dismissed by some as a one-trick pony. Shame a few of his team-mates were not at the races.

While Nolan was out of the starting gate quickly, the likes of Peter Lovenkrands – on his first start since rejoining United – and Joey Barton simply never got going. Both were deployed in a midfield which is still suffering from a lack of natural width and frequent confusion as to which square peg should fill which round hole.

The periods either side of half-time were so painful that Newcastle looked not so much disjointed, as completely dislocated. Throw in the fact that the Pilgrims arrived on the back of five straight defeats, and this win does not necessarily represent progress.

Let’s hope history recalls it as the day when Carroll, with his second goal in a week, came of age.

All had seemed plain sailing when Plymouth went behind so early on. They had actually begun brightly, with Karl Duguid serving notice of intent with a shot straight at Harper, then an always-rising volley.

But once Steven Taylor had stooped to head in Geremi’s deep left-wing corner, Plymouth looked ripe to be conquered.

Nolan, having won the corner and clearly relishing a roving role in support of Carroll, saw a goalbound shot blocked after fine work down the right by Danny Simpson.

Then Lovenkrands, operating mainly down the left, forced a low save from Romain Larrieu.

Visibly, the Pilgrims began to lose faith. They made the odd expedition into Newcastle’s final third, but usually only when invited by moments of Magpie complacency.

Celtic loanee Cillian Sheridan stung Harper’s palms with an acutely-angled but fierce shot. But that was easily the closest Plymouth came to finding salvation in the opening 35 minutes.