Carroll rescues Magpies draw

Andy Carroll salvaged a 1-1 draw for Newcastle in a fiercely competitive tussle at the Britannia Stadium.

Newcastle hold Stoke at Britannia Stadium

Andy Carroll salvaged a 1-1 draw for Newcastle in a fiercely competitive tussle at the Britannia Stadium. The Magpies struggled to get to grips with Stoke's style of play for much of the game and their vulnerability at set-pieces was exposed when Abdoulaye Faye headed home from a corner in the 33rd minute. The Potters had chances to extend their lead before Newcastle finally started to apply some pressure of their own in the closing stages. It was imperative for Alan Shearer's men to take something from the match and Carroll stepped off the substitutes' bench to power a header past Thomas Sorensen with nine minutes remaining. Both sides looked to push forward in a frantic finale but ultimately had to settle for a point apiece which leaves Newcastle in the relegation zone and Stoke hovering precariously above it.

Relieved

As early as the sixth minute Steve Harper had been relieved to see a glancing header from Ryan Shawcross to a Liam Lawrence inswinger flash across his goal and narrowly beyond the left-hand post. Eight minutes later, though, Harper was almost left red-faced as he was beaten to the punch by a brave Ricardo Fuller who had risen to meet a curling cross from Rory Delap after a woeful Damien Duff clearance. Fuller was unlucky as his header shaved the crossbar of an empty net, with Harper in no-man's land and again breathing a sigh of relief. Lawrence, having already tested the Newcastle defence with a number of piercing deliveries, then made his fourth corner of the game count. But as the Magpies markers went missing it made it a formality for Faye to plant a comfortable seven-yard header beyond stricken goalkeeper Harper. Stoke ended the half firmly in the ascendancy, but with penalty appeals for handball waved away against Shola Ameobi and Kevin Nolan.

Blood and bandages

There was also blood and bandages for striker James Beattie after he was caught on top of his head in a collision with Sebastien Bassong. How Stoke did not then put the game out of Newcastle's reach early in the second period remains a mystery as they had the chances, but a little bit of luck was at least on the visitors' side. Bassong and Ryan Taylor both found themselves on hand in clearing efforts from Glenn Whelan and Faye off the line. Newcastle managed to survive the storm, but Shearer - sharp-suited as he often stood with his hands in his pockets inside his technical area - was still watching an impotent display. That was until he brought on substitute Carroll in the 71st minute. The young striker's impact was almost immediate as within moments he had headed narrowly wide a deep cross from Ryan Taylor, at that stage Newcastle's best chance of the game. Then, within 10 minutes of his arrival, Carroll's instinct saw him rise to a deflected chip from Duff and loop a delightful header inside the right-hand post of Sorensen.

Stoke City	Team Statistics	Newcastle United
1	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	0
5	Shots on Target	2
10	Shots off Target	5
6	Blocked Shots	3
9	Corners	3
14	Fouls	12
1	Offsides	0
4	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
58.5	Passing Success	70.8
13	Tackles	18
69.2	Tackles Success	77.8
38.3	Possession	61.7
52.7	Territorial Advantage	47.3