A FORCE OF NATURE
Super sub Carroll’s the Toon hero
THIS is why Newcastle re-signed Andy Carroll. Be it at centre forward, centre back, right wing or left back, there was not an area in which he did not improve his side, who had been dreadful and trailed 1-0 until his introduction on the hour.
Carroll, like this, is a force- ofnature footballer. He did not score — he did not have to — but he laid on the equaliser for Jonjo Shelvey and then protected the lead gained by Federico Fernandez with some heroic defending late on. His cross for Shelvey from the right was of the type he himself would love to receive, whipped and weighted to perfection. Shelvey, heading home his third goal in as many matches, made straight for the creator in thanks. But Carroll was not done. Southampton’s defenders had strolled through their afternoon for an hour but now they were being trampled. Rattled and ragged — all the result of one man — the Saints retreated and Fernandez nicked victory three minutes from time after Alex McCarthy had fumbled a Sean Longstaff drive. Carroll swapped attack for defence in the closing stages and won a roar as hearty as those which had greeted the goals when he took man, ball and turf with a crunching challenge to upend Cedric Soares in Newcastle’s left-back position. There was still time for two headed clearances from stoppagetime corners as Newcastle clung to a win they had barely deserved. Steve Bruce knew who to thank. ‘It was like the Andy Carroll of 10 years ago,’ said the Newcastle boss. ‘He was everywhere. What a ball for the goal, Jonjo hasn’t had to break his stride.
‘Andy adds a little bit of everything. It’s that physical presence, and also his attitude, which has made him a top, top player.
‘His attitude is to come on and roll up his sleeves, he instantly made a big difference. He lifted the crowd. He led from the front and the team responded to that. He’s come on and won us the match.’
It must be said that the man Carroll replaced, £40million frontman Joelinton, had been so poor that his best contribution was in forcing Bruce to make the change. The Brazilian was not alone in underperforming. They say it’s a good sign when a team plays badly and still picks up results, and Bruce’s Newcastle are emerging as experts in that regard.
‘We were nowhere near the levels which are needed but that spirit is there for everyone to see,’ added Bruce, whose side are up to 10th.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl was, justifiably, miffed. ‘I saw my team playing football,’ he said. ‘We had the chances, they made the goals. It was our best away performance, we must be proud. The opponent was struggling and they played long balls to Carroll, who is 10 feet tall.’
An exaggeration, of course, but that is how it felt for the visitors, such was Carroll’s impact.
There was some bad news for Newcastle after influential winger Allan Saint- Maximin left the ground on crutches after injuring his hamstring.
The one other player Bruce can ill afford to lose is his goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, who again kept them in the game with two fine saves from Nathan Redmond before half-time.
Danny Ings did slide beyond the Slovakian for the opening goal on 52 minutes, his fifth in as many matches, and Saints should have added to their lead before the arrival of Carroll as both Cedric and Moussa Djenepo spurned chances inside the area.
But on came Carroll and so changed the course of a contest Newcastle had no right to win. That is why they re- signed the hometown hero and the roar reserved for him on full time told of the affection in which he is held.
Imagine what it will be like if he starts scoring goals.
NEWCASTLE (3-4-2-1): Dubravka 7; Clark 6 (Schar 46min, 5), Fernandez 7, Dummett 6.5; Manquillo 6, Shelvey 7, Hayden 6.5, Willems 6; Almiron 6 (S Longstaff 85), Saint-Maximin 6; Joelinton 4 ( CARROLL 59, 8).
Subs not used: Darlow, Gayle, Krafth, Atsu. Scorers: Shelvey 68, Fernandez 87. Booked: Shelvey. Manager: Steve Bruce 7. SOUTHAMPTON (4-4-2): McCarthy 5; Cedric 6, Stephens 7, Bednarek 6.5, Bertrand 6; Djenepo 5.5 (Boufal 73, 5), Hojbjerg 6.5, Ward-Prowse 7.5, Redmond 7; Long 6.5, Ings 7 (Adams 88). Subs not used: Gunn, Yoshida, Vestergaard, Romeu, Obafemi. Scorer: Ings 52. Booked: Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg, Cedric. Manager: Ralph Hassenhutl 6. Referee: David Coote 6. Attendance: 42,303.