Barnsley 2, Newcastle United 2
Dec 14 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal
Barnsley away has the same ring to it as Scunthorpe and Blackpool away, but this time Newcastle came away with a point.
It should, though, have been three. The first 20 minutes were a show of strength by the Championship’s playground bullies, particularly recalled Andy Carroll.
Whatever he gets up to off the pitch, the 20-year-old is hard to handle on it. It made his unnecessary injury-time booking for a bit of push-and-shove all the more disappointing, as it rules him out of Sunday’s Tyne-Tees derby.
Twice in the opening five minutes Carroll towered above the defenders, only to direct headers just the wrong side of the goal. But when Steve Harper and Ryan Taylor pumped long balls in his direction, the Gateshead-born striker flicked them into the paths off Kevin Nolan and Marlon Harewood to convert, minutes after each had stepped on to the pitch.
As former Durham cricket coach Martyn Moxon watched from the stands, United responded to Nolan’s sixth-minute goal with a straight bat, sitting on the back foot content to wait for long hops.
It seemed a safe approach until Mark Robins got hold of his men at half-time. Out early for the second half, Barnsley quickly forced two corners and posed more danger in the first five minutes than in the previous 45.
As well as the motivation, the hosts seemed to have stumbled on the plan to get back into the game.
Lump long balls down the middle and Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini will head them away with ease, try to play through the middle and you hit the roadblock of Alan Smith and Nicky Butt (assisted by Nolan, who dropped back from centre-forward midway through the opening period).
The way to make this side look vulnerable is to get to the byline and cross.
José Enrique and Ryan Taylor’s willingness to get forward provided the gaps, Emil Hallfredsson and Anderson de Silva started rushing into them.
When Carroll gifted possession in the 52nd minute, the ball was fed to the Brazilian. With Ryan Taylor and Daniel Bogdanovic unable to master the cross, Hallfredsson crept in unattended at the back post to smash an equaliser.
Substitute Harewood’s goal looked to have retrieved the situation, only for Barnsley to force a corner three minutes from time. From Carroll’s vicinity Bobby Hassell found the net.
In years to come, no one will look back on Saturday as this Newcastle team’s finest hour-and-a-half – but the point won could yet be an important staging post on the way back to the Premier League.
