Source: Eurosport
Carroll stakes claim for Toon start
Newcastle striker Andy Carroll staked his claim for a place against Stoke with two goals for the reserves in front of Alan Shearer on Monday.The 20-year-old handed his side a 16th-minute lead over Manchester City at St James' Park, and after Benjani Mwaruwari had levelled for the visitors, claimed a 63rd-minute winner.Carroll's form cannot have failed to impress the watching Shearer, coaches Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood and team-mates Habib Beye, Sebastien Bassong, Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan and Fabricio Coloccini.The senior side faces an intensely difficult trip to Stoke on Saturday with their Premier League existence hanging by a thread.Shearer has placed his faith in frontmen Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins, but the fact remains that the Magpies have scored only three times in their last six games and are in grave need of added firepower.Carroll was used as an 81st-minute replacement for Martins in Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Chelsea, but had little chance to make his mark.Alan Smith captained the Newcastle second string last night, while there were also run-outs for David Edgar, Xisco and Danny Guthrie, although the latter limped off with a knee injury before half-time.[LNB]
