Cole sings the praises of Carroll
JOE Cole says Andy Carroll changed the game for Newcastle United against Aston Villa on Friday night.
After carving out good opportunities to take the lead in the second half, the Magpies fell behind late on when Ciaran Clark deflected Ollie Watkins’ glancing header into his own net.
The goal prompted boss Steve Bruce to send on Carroll late on in a frantic attempt to rescue a point for Newcastle - and the target man immediately put himself about up front.
The 31-year-old won the ball back in the build-up to Newcastle’s last-gasp equaliser, which saw captain Jamaal Lascelles head the ball home to record a 1-1 draw.
Cole claimed Newcastle lack the players to attack teams in the way they got at Villa in the closing stages of the game and praised Bruce for his decision to send on Carroll and Jacob Murphy in the second half.
He said: “They are not capable enough to throw bodies forwards.
“Even at the end, it was exciting for the neutrals but Villa broke away and nearly scored twice because they opened up and had a go.
“These fans and this club are used to Rob Lee’s teams, going gung-ho and with forward play but they do not have the players to do that anymore, that is for sure.
“However, they gave us a great 10 minutes of action at the end.
“Carroll deserves big credit for coming on, he changed the game, and Murphy as well.
“I think those two and Steve Bruce, maybe he could have done it a bit earlier but, at the end of the day it was a point.
“From Villa’s perspective, they will be devastated going down the motorway with just a point as they thought they had victory in the bag.”