United quieten - but don't silence - their critics
FISTS clenched, the dismissed Zurab Khizanishvili left the field imploring Newcastle United's fans to back the 10 men left on the pitch to the finish.
That they did, and for the first time in five games, their support was rewarded with a win.
Their loyalty had taken them to Glanford Park and the City Ground in the previous seven days, and far from convincing displays at each had seen the club's promotion bid falter, though the failings of others meant they went into Saturday's game against Doncaster Rovers still joint leaders of the Championship.
Chris Hughton's players, we know, were unhappy at some of the criticism levelled at them during their four-game winless run, and the result, if not the performance, will have quietened, but not silenced, their critics.
The suggestion from the players – not least match-winner Kevin Nolan – has been that the media had got it wrong.
Yet a glance behind the dugout at the fans berating Hughton suggested that had the stories and headlines been written by supporters, rather than journalists, they would have pulled fewer punches still.
Tempers boiled over as Newcastle – trailing to Dean Shiels' 18th-minute opener – chased the game late in the first-half, and Alan Shearer's name was again chanted by sections of fans not overwhelmed with the imminent appointment of Hughton as permanent manager.
And they let rip as Marlon Harewood was substituted after another ineffectual display, with his replacement – Nile Ranger – being roared on to the pitch on the hour mark.
While Nolan's winner got the headlines this time, Ranger's contribution in galvanising the crowd behind United's players was just as important, and his energy and enthusiasm helped turn the game in their favour.
Danny Guthrie clipped a ball to Carroll in the 67th minute, and Carroll, atoning for an earlier miss, smashed the ball past Neil Sullivan to level the scores.
Newcastle's comeback was almost brought to a shuddering halt after Ryan Taylor conceded a penalty for handball.
But former Sunderland midfielder Martin Woods missed the 75th-minute spot-kick by a country mile.
After Khizanishvili's dismissal – the defender saw red for forcefully pushing Billy Sharp away from a confrontation with Tamas Kadar – United still had work to do.
But as the game went into injury-time, another two home points looked like they would go begging, Hughton's side having drawn their last two games at St James's.
However, Nolan – reborn this season after a frustrating first few months at the club – saw them home, placing the ball past Sullivan from outside the box after Carroll had rolled it to him two minutes into added time.
It was his eighth of the season, and arguably the most significant yet, such was the pressure on Nolan and his team-mates after a frustrating few weeks.
The result returned Newcastle to the top of the Championship, but no-one – not least those fans who saw their team beaten at Scunthorpe United and Nottingham Forest – will be getting carried away. It's 14 down, 32 to go.
NEWCASTLE UNITED: Harper; R Taylor, Khizanishvili, Kadar, Enrique; Guthrie, Nolan, Butt, Gutierrez (Tozer, 87); Harewood (Ranger, 60), Carroll. Subs not used: Krul, Donaldson, Geremi, Ngo Baheng, Lovenkrands.
DONCASTER ROVERS: Sullivan; O'Connor, Shackell, Hird, Chambers; Coppinger (Hayter, 78), Shiels, Gillett (Oster, 66), Woods; Sharp (Guy, 86), Fortune. Subs not used: Woods, Spicer, Dumbuya, Heffernan.
Goals: Shiels 18, Carroll 67, Nolan 90
Booked: Shiels, O'Connor, Sharp, Butt, Harewood, Nolan, Chambers
Sent off: Khizanishvili
Attendance: 43,949
Referee: Darren Deadman (Cheshunt)
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Friday 25 May 2012
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