CONTRIVED, organised brutality. That was one way of looking at Newcastle United's treatment at Molineux after being thrown to the Wolves. And if Chris Hughton has already described his No 9 Andy Carroll as a "throwback" to the 1970s, then this was like turning back the clock to a bygone era when football went out the window in favour of brutal fouls and intimidation.
Even though Andy Carroll's firsthalf miss was forgiven, the fact that Wolves scored on their next attack through Sylvan Ebanks-Blake shows the fine line between taking chances and misfiring at the top level.And the defiance on the faces of Nolan and Barton suggested United were ready to stand up to top-flight bullies.TOONRATINGS STEVE HARPER..................... 7 Took a real whack in the nose JAMES PERCH ....................... 6 Survived a big penalty call FABRICIO COLOCCINI ......... 7 Nice and steady again MIKE WILLIAMSON .............. 8 The pick of back four JOSE ENRIQUE...................... 7 Didn't give much away WAYNE ROUTLEDGE............ 8 Had Wolves rocking ALAN SMITH........................... 7 Some crucial interventions JOEY BARTON ....................... 8 Kept his cool JONAS GUTIERREZ ............. 6 Not his best hour KEVIN NOLAN ........................ 8 Almost stole the victory ANDY CARROLL .................... 9 Shrugged off miss to grab point Substitutes SHOLA AMEOBI For Carroll, 81 NOT USED: Harper, R Taylor, Lovenkrands, Krul, Kadar, Ranger.ATTENDANCE 27,745 Whining Wolves fans did not manage to sway the mind of Stuart Attwell.There were, however, lessons to be learned by Newcastle again.And the refreshing thing at Molineux was that Newcastle were trying to win in the closing stages.It remains a learning curve for United.Their tactics even stooped as low as not returning the ball into play.Even the mild-mannered Hughton gave Wolves a taste of his own medicine when allowing the ball to roll past him without attempting to get the ball back to the home bench as they pressed on to try to win the game.BOOKINGS NUFC: Carroll, Nolan, Ameobi, Perch, Barton. WWFC: Doyle, Van Damme, Jarvis, Zubar, Guedioura, Berra.WOLVES: Hahnemann 7, Van Damme 6 (Zubar 55 6), Craddock 6, Henry 7, Ebanks-Blake 8, Ward 7, Jones 6 (Guedioura 72, 6), Berra 6, Jarvis 7, Doyle 6 (Fletcher 6 72), Foley 6.Jody Craddock left Molineux with a cut head, and Jelle Van Damme hobbled out of the stadium looking more like Mr Blobby than his movie star namesake Jean Claude after this game of Bloodsport.Ebanks-Blake - the quickest player on the field - showed just what can be achieved by a player who possesses that injection of pace, although United speed demon Wayne Routledge was also fantastic on the day.But the most important thing is that Joey got himself up and looked to receive the ball the next time - Chris Hughton "SUPER SAVE Hahnemann's parry from Nolan at 1-1 meant that United had to settle for a draw after dominating the clash at Molineux TOP SHOT Ebanks-Blake made no mistake with a well-struck effort to thread the ball beyond Harper Key moment Carroll's equalising header meant that United deservedly left the Black Country with something to show for their effortsSticking together and looking after each other's back is all the rage and, while Wolves and Mick McCarthy looked long and hard for a rise from the Magpies, they didn't get one.Yes, Wolves had their chances, but if the Black Country side are supposed to be a side to be concerned about, United passed this test with flying colours.Their application against Wolves was admirable, especially going forward.By the end, and after Wolves hurled as much venom as they could United's way, the Magpies came off the field having laughed in the face of such adversity.Ryder's verdict United were prepared to sweat blood and got their reward.MATCHSTATS GOALS 1-0 (Ebanks-Blake 43): Wolves struck on the counter after Carroll's close-range miss before Van Damme clipped a right-wing cross for Ebanks-Blake to roll the ball past Harper. 1-1 (Carroll 63): United won a free-kick and Barton delicately floated it into the box for the big Geordie to power home a super header.Barton, who was booked in the dying stages, had learned to keep his cool and think first, while Newcastle are no longer the disjointed bunch who once muddled their way through Premier League life.But while they could dish it out, they weren't keen on taking it back.CAPTION(S):Wolves were as ugly as their club badge.Carroll, written off during a halftime conference between national hacks after his miss, showed he can recover with a superb header, just like he did with a hat-trick against Villa after heading wide at Old Trafford.Wolves were transparently obvious in their attempt to rattle Newcastle and Joey Barton - but obviously hadn't done their homework.Wolves picked the fight - and United were no angels themselves - but they had to stand up to the socalled big boys.REFEREE STUART ATTWELL ....................... 7 Was unable to let the game flow due to the volume of fouls by Wolves - could easily have awarded Wolves a penalty when Perch took out Jarvis.There were 35 fouls in all from both sides, 12 yellow cards and the air turned blue in the Black Country for long periods of this niggling encounter. Afterwards referee Stuart Attwell was slated on radio phone-ins by angry Wolves fans, but the truth is the official clamped down on both Wolves' antics and United's retaliatory challenges, leaving the whistler with writer's cramp.There's no doubt it was a physical game, and there's no doubt Joey took the brunt of their physicality.ROUGH TREATMENT Joey Barton is challenged by Wolves' Karl Henry
ROUGH TREATMENT Joey Barton is challenged by Wolves' Karl Henry
