CANARIES THRILLED BY
Possession Shots On Target Shots Off Target Blocked Shots Corners Fouls Conceded Offsides Yellow Cards Red Cards 51% 49% 6 2 4 4 5 1 5 5 6 11 3 2 3 3 0 0 RAFA BENITEZ warned his Toon tearaways can still improve as they demolished Brentford to go second.
Newcastle powered into a two-goal lead in the opening 16 minutes and threatened to hand out a humiliating defeat to the Bees on their first visit to St James’ Park for 23 years.
Ciaran Clark’s second Newcastle goal and Dwight Gayle’s eighth quickly took the fallen giants into a lead they never looked like squandering.
Gayle added a second at the start of the second half and not even a scrappy Brentford consolation goal could spoil the party mood on Tyneside.
Toon boss Benitez said: “I am very pleased to see the team playing so well and concentrated after the international break. We did everything we wanted.
“We can still improve. We scored goals, we had more chances and, even better, it was a good team performance. We knew what we had to do to win WES HOOLAHAN stole the show as Norwich grabbed top spot in the Championship.
The Republic of Ireland star scored one and created one, fully deserving his standing ovation when he was substituted shortly before the final whistle.
Cameron Jerome followed up Hoolahan’s opener. Then, after rock-bottom Rotherham pulled one back through substitute Dexter Blackstock, Steven Naismith added a third in the 89th minute.
Carrow Road boss Alex Neil saw his team claim a fifth straight home win in the league, and said: “Wes is a crucial player for us. We rate him very highly and we’ve come to expect that from him.
“The performance was very the game. I have not seen the table, but it is too soon to look at it.
“You can do that after three or four months, and then see where we are. At the moment we just concentrate on winning one game at a time.”
Clark headed home unmarked when he met Jonjo Shelvey’s pinpoint free-kick from pointblank range in the 11th minute.
It was soon 2-0 when Gayle waltzed past two hopeless challenges and thumped his shot low past keeper Daniel Bentley.
Brentford manager Dean good and we played well enough to be 3-0 up at half-time.
“We were always in control of the game but made it much more difficult than it needed to be.”
But Neil played down his side’s move into pole position just 12 games into the campaign.
The Scot added: “We deserve to be there because we’ve won the games. But it’s what you do from Christmas onwards, when the pressure really starts to tell, that wins promotion.”
Rotherham boss Alan Stubbs