Source: Northern_Echo
Newcastle 6 Barnsley 1
Newcastle 6 Barnsley 1[LNB] IN the Marvel comic book series, Spiderman's greatest asset is his ability to ascend buildings and surfaces that cannot be climbed by mere mortals.[LNB] Little wonder, then, that Jonas Gutierrez has made the moniker his own. If the Newcastle midfielder ends the season with a Championship winners' medal and a place at the World Cup finals, he too will have scaled heights few could have deemed negotiable at the start of the campaign.[LNB] When Jonas plays like that, he looks like an international playing in the Championship,[LNB] said Magpies manager Chris Hughton, after Gutierrez's man-in-the-mask goal celebration capped a 6-1 victory over Barnsley that represented Newcastle's biggest win of the season.[LNB] He's just come back from international duty, he played very well for Argentina in the week and he's a player with real confidence at the moment.[LNB] He's got a great goal to aim for at the end of the season, and that's promotion here and to do well at the World Cup. He's playing really well at the moment to try to make that happen.[LNB] So well, in fact, that compared to the majority of his opponents in English football's second tier, he almost appears superhuman.[LNB] Throughout the opening hour of Saturday's game, his high-paced dribbling had bamboozled the Barnsley defence, but in keeping with so many of his performances since a £7m move from Real Mallorca in July 2008, his efforts were concentrated on setting up a goal rather than scoring one himself.[LNB] No goal; no mask.[LNB] His only previous success for the Magpies had come against Peterborough last November, but riled by suggestions of an imminent return to Spain, he had decided against donning the Spiderman headgear.[LNB] Sixty minutes into this weekend's win, though, and a little piece of Tyneside folklore was born.[LNB] Picking up the ball on the left-hand flank, Gutierrez cut inside before unleashing a ferocious 25-yard drive that cannoned into the net off the underside of the crossbar.[LNB] Continuing his run towards the corner of Gallowgate End and East Stand, the 26-year-old delved into his shorts and produced a rubber Spiderman mask. He might have been unable to shoot out webs, but by that stage, a beaten Barnsley side were well and truly in a tangle anyway.[LNB] I'm glad to finally have a chance to wear it, said Gutierrez.[LNB] I don't know how long the mask has been down there, but it didn't smell very nice when I put it on.[LNB] It's been a long wait. People were talking about it when I signed because I had worn it in Spain. I had it last season, the same one, but didn't get chance to use it at all. I can't actually remember the last time I put one on.[LNB] It does smell though. When I ran to the bench and gave it to Jose (Enrique), I warned him that it didn't smell very good.[LNB] I've cleaned it once or twice, and I don't have it down there every game, just the home matches.[LNB] But why Spiderman Does he sense opposition danger before it arrives Was he bitten by a radioactive spider as a child[LNB] Sadly, the truth is rather more mundane.[LNB] It all started in Spain,[LNB] Gutierrez explained. I went to the cinema and a little boy asked me to score a goal for him, so I told him I would put a Spiderman mask on for him as that was his favourite film. The next game I scored, so it went on then and carried on.[LNB] I bought four or five after that, although I don't know where the others are. I think this is the last one, so I'll have to make sure I get it back. Some people have said I should wear the whole suit if we are promoted, but no, no, just the mask.[LNB] What is becoming impossible to mask, despite Hughton's understandable attempts to avoid triumphalism, is that Newcastle are heading back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.[LNB] With West Brom losing at QPR, Saturday's win left the Magpies eight points clear of second-placed Nottingham Forest, with a game in hand, and nine points ahead of the Baggies.[LNB] With just 12 games to play, their advantage is therefore considerable.[LNB] Their latest success could hardly have been more emphatic, yet for almost all of the opening 45 minutes, there was nothing to choose between the two sides.[LNB] The match turned on a single incident three minutes before the break and, not for the first time this season, fortune was undoubtedly on Newcastle's side.[LNB] Peter Lovenkrands went tumbling in the box, but if there was any contact at all from Barnsley goalkeeper Luke Steele, it appeared minimal.[LNB] Referee Grant Hegley awarded a penalty though, and having made that decision, a subsequent straight red card was inevitable.[LNB] Lovenkrands dusted himself down to dispatch the spot-kick, but Barnsley boss Mark Robins alleges the Dane told his opponents he had not been caught by Steele.[LNB] The sending off was the pivotal moment of the game because, until then, we had coped with everything well, he said.[LNB] I'm dubious whether there was any contact, but I've been told by the referee that it's a sending off whether it's a trip or an attempted trip.[LNB] My goalkeeper tells me that he didn't make any contact, and Peter Lovenkrands also confirmed there was no contact but that he felt he had to go over.[LNB] After we were reduced to ten men, they got their tails up and the game completely changed.[LNB] The turnaround could hardly have been more pronounced, with Lovenkrands' penalty sparking a run of six goals in 27 minutes either side of the break.[LNB] Lovenkrands headed in his and Newcastle's second three minutes into the second half, taking his tally to 12 for the season, all of which have been scored at home.[LNB] Danny Guthrie, who was excellent in a central midfield berth, made it three moments later, drilling home from long range, and Gutierrez's similar strike extended United's advantage on the hour mark.[LNB] Guthrie scored again nine minutes later as his floated free-kick evaded everyone and crept in at the back post, and Kevin Nolan completed the home side's scoring, and reclaimed his leading goalscorer's mantle in the process, as he latched on to Tamas Kadar's long ball and rounded replacement goalkeeper David Preece, formerly of Darlington.[LNB] Barnsley grabbed a consolation when Daniel Bogdanovic profited from a mix-up between Danny Simpson and Fabricio Coloccini with seven minutes left, but there was to be no incredible recovery.[LNB] That would have required the services of a superhero, and Spiderman was already wearing black-and-white.[LNB] Match facts Goals:[LNB] 1-0: Lovenkrands (44, drilled home penalty after he been brought down)[LNB] 2-0: Lovenkrands (48, powerful eightyard header from Carroll's cross)[LNB] 3-0: Guthrie (50, drilled 25-yard drive into corner)[LNB] 4-0: Gutierrez (60, cut in from the left flank and hammered in from 25 yards)[LNB] 5-0: Guthrie (69, floated in a free-kick from the left that evaded everyone and crept in at the far post)[LNB] 6-0: Nolan (71, picked up Kadar's through ball and rolled home after rounding Preece)[LNB] 6-1: Bogdanovic (83, profited from Simpson's error to roll in)[LNB] Sending-off: Steele (42mins, professional foul)[LNB] Referee: Grant Hegley (Bishop's Stortford) having decided to award the penalty, he had to show Steele a straight red card 6[LNB] Attendance: 44,464[LNB] Entertainment: [LNB] NEWCASTLE (4-4-2):[LNB] 6 Harper: Didn't have much to do, but saved well from Hallfredsson when the scores were level[LNB] 6 Simpson: Lively and industrious throughout, but blotted his copybook with a poor header late on[LNB] 6 Coloccini: Got himself in a tangle for Barnsley's consolation, but generally defended well[LNB] 7 Williamson: Quiet but effective against the physical threat of former Sunderland striker Gray[LNB] 6 Enrique: Looked lively on the overlap before a recurrence of his hamstring injury[LNB] 6 Pancrate: Justified his inclusion with the pass that led to the game-changing penalty[LNB] 8 Guthrie: His first goal was a belter and he always looks a better player in central midfield[LNB] 7 Nolan: Reclaimed his leading scorer's mantle as he rounded Preece to score late on[LNB] 8 Gutierrez: If his long-range strike was impressive, his long-awaited goal celebration was even better[LNB] 8 Lovenkrands: Would have claimed his second hat-trick of the season had his late header not hit the post[LNB] 7 Carroll: The scorer turned provider with an excellent leftwing cross for Lovenkrands' second goal[LNB] Subs:[LNB] Kadar (for Enrique, 33mins): Slotted in effectively on the left and set up Nolan's second-half strike 6 Best (for Carroll 72) R Taylor (for Nolan 72) (not used): Krul (gk), Hall, Butt, Ranger.[LNB] BARNSLEY (4-4-1-1): Steele 4; Hassell 4, Foster 4, Shotton 3, Dickinson 5; TEIXEIRA 6, Colace 4, Doyle 4, Hallfredsson 5 (Macken 63, 4); De Silva 5 (Preece 43, 3); Gray 4 (Bogdanovic 63, 6). Subs (not used): Hammil, Potter, Moore, Hume.[LNB] MAN OF THE MATCH[LNB] DANNY Guthrie has edged out Alan Smith and Kevin Nolan to emerge as Newcastle's most in-form central midfielder.[LNB]
