Source: Northern_Echo
Newcastle United 3 Scunthorpe United 0
Newcastle United 3 Scunthorpe United 0[LNB] LAST night, the Disney Live stage show completed its run at Newcastle's MetroRadio Arena.[LNB] A few hundred yards away at St James' Park, however, and Newcastle United's fairytale push for the Premier League was showing no sign of coming to an end.[LNB] If last season was akin to a horror movie for fans of the Magpies, then the current campaign looks like mimicking Disney's most recent release.[LNB] With ten games to go, Newcastle are surely going Up.[LNB] Last night's comprehensive 3-0 win over a thoroughly outclassed Scunthorpe means Chris Hughton's side only have to win five of their remaining ten matches to guarantee an immediate return to the Premier League.[LNB] They boast a 12-point gap over third-placed Nottingham Forest, with a game in hand, and face the East Midlands side on Tyneside on March 29. Win that, and the promotion race will be all but done and dusted.[LNB] Their latest success could hardly have been more simplistic with first-half strikes from Andy Carroll and Peter Lovenkrands establishing a two-goal advantage inside the opening 22 minutes.[LNB] Carroll extended the hosts' lead with his 14th goal of the season ten minutes after the break a clinical finish that drew him alongside Lovenkrands in the race to finish the season as Newcastle's leading scorer and the Magpies were able to coast to a result that maintains their hopes of completing an entire season unbeaten at home for the first time in 103 yards.[LNB] Last night's clean sheet the 18th of the season in the league also enabled Newcastle to equal a club record that was set the last time they won English football's second tier, in the 1992-93 season.[LNB] The victory represented revenge for October's defeat to Scunthorpe, a night that saw the biggest crowd in Glanford Park's history treat the result as if it was a giant-killing.[LNB] Last night, it was clear before kick off that Nigel Adkins was not envisaging a repeat.[LNB] With crucial relegation battles against Plymouth and Peterborough looming, the Iron boss chose to rest five of his first-team players rather than subject them to three games in ten days.[LNB] It was not quite as defeatist as Mick McCarthy's ten-man reshuffle at Old Trafford earlier this season, but it had exactly the same effect.[LNB] Newcastle were two goals to the good inside the opening half-hour, and a callow Scunthorpe side could have had no complaints if the deficit had been considerably greater. Indeed, had it not been for the woodwork and the presence of an eagle-eyed assistant, it would have five by the 30-minute mark.[LNB] The two goals that did arrive came from reliable sources, with Carroll and Lovenkrands scoring their 13th and 14th goals of the season respectively. The pair have developed into a successful strike partnership, and at least one has made it onto the scoresheet in eight of Newcastle's last nine matches.[LNB] Carroll notched first last night, taking advantage of some dreadful Scunthorpe marking to head home Danny Guthrie's right-wing corner in the tenth minute.[LNB] Guthrie's prompting and probing from the heart of midfield was a feature throughout, and while Alan Smith is expected to return ahead of Saturday's trip to Bristol City, it will be a shame if the former Liverpool trainee does not retain his place alongside Kevin Nolan.[LNB] The pair combined effectively two minutes after Carroll broke the deadlock, but Nolan had strayed offside before he headed home Guthrie's chipped free-kick.[LNB] The Scunthorpe goal was under siege for the majority of the night, and while Lovenkrands wasted a golden opportunity by shooting against the underside of the crossbar after Murphy palmed Jose Enrique's low cross straight to his feet, but the Dane did not have to wait long for his fourth goal in three matches.[LNB] Wayne Routledge, restored to the starting line-up in place of Fabrice Pancrate, supplied the through ball, and after galloping behind defender Rob Jones, Lovenkrands drilled a precise finish into the bottom lefthand corner.[LNB] Murphy produced an excellent full-stretch save to deny the striker a second moments later, and while the visitors finally entered the Newcastle box to fashion a half-chance that ended with Jonathan Forte shooting wide, the first half was little more than a procession towards the Scunthorpe goal.[LNB] The league table suggests there is a considerable difference between the two sides, but even with that in mind, there were times when the gulf in class was almost embarrassing.[LNB] Perhaps inevitably, the second half contained lengthy spells when Newcastle's players took their foot off the pedal, but the chances, and goals, still continued to come.[LNB] Carroll claimed his second of the night ten minutes after the break, galloping onto Guthrie's through ball in the inside-left channel and fashioning a deft chipped finish to beat Murphy from an acute angle.[LNB] Having spent most of the first half of the season struggling to locate the goalmouth, the England Under-21 international, who could yet commit his representative future to Scotland, has suddenly discovered a clinical streak to accompany his abundant ability.[LNB] Gutierrez has also discovered his shooting boots in recent weeks, but the St James' Park faithful were denied a second glimpse of the winger's Spiderman mask when an offside flag curtailed his celebrations after he drove home with 19 minutes left.[LNB] Match facts Goals: Carroll (10mins, 1-0; 55, 3-0)[LNB] Lovenkrands (22, 2-0)[LNB] Bookings: Carroll (55mins, over celebration)[LNB] Referee: Phil Crossley (Bromley) 6[LNB] Attendance: 39,301[LNB] Entertainment: [LNB] NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-4-2):[LNB] Harper 6; Simpson 6, Coloccini 7, Hall 6, Enrique 6 (Kadar 75mins); Routledge 8, Nolan 6, GUTHRIE 8, Gutierrez 6; Lovenkrands 7 (Ranger 82mins), Carroll 8 (Best 75mins).[LNB] Subs (not used): Krul (gk), R Taylor, Butt, Pancrate[LNB] SCUNTHORPE UNITED (4-5-1):[LNB] Murphy 4; A Wright 4, Raynes 4, Jones 5, Williams 4; Thompson 4, O'Connor 5 (Togwell 55mins 4), McCann 4, J Wright 4 (Woolford 72mins), FORTE 6; Hayes 4 (McDermott 55mins 5).[LNB] Subs (not used): Lillis (gk), Milne, Sparrow, Canavan[LNB] MAN OF THE MATCH[LNB] DANNY Guthrie The midfielder has produced his best displays since being switched into a central position[LNB]
