Taylor shows wisdom in front of goal

20 September 2009 13:26
The 23-year-old defender's sixth-minute header got the Magpies off to the perfect start, and handed him the opportunity to get his own back on caretaker boss Chris Hughton and the club's coaching staff.[LNB]Taylor marked his goal by striking an X-Factor-style pose in front of the delighted home fans, and later revealed just why he did it.[LNB]He said: "I have been getting a lot of stick because they think I've got the Simon Cowell white teeth. All I use is Colgate![LNB]"But it's just because they drink a lot of coffee and they have got yellow and brown teeth - that's why you never see them smile on the touchline.[LNB]"They wanted me to do the celebration, so I did it. It keeps them happy anyway - but I still didn't get a smile from them."[LNB]There were plenty of smiles around St James' Park on the final whistle as the bulk of a crowd of 42,898 went away happy to see order restored after a surprise 2-1 defeat at Blackpool in midweek.[LNB]However, aside of a promising opening and an even stronger finish, there were more frowns than grins as the Magpies laboured to see off a side which has still to win a game all season and remains rooted to the foot of the Championship.[LNB]Peter Lovenkrands might have added to Taylor's early strike, but was denied by keeper Romain Larrieu, and as the deluge failed to materialise, the visitors gained in confidence.[LNB]Taylor was relieved to see his attempt to keep out Jamie Mackie's driven cross come back off the post after the striker had robbed Jose Enrique inside the penalty area as a strange lethargy engulfed the home side.[LNB]Argyle got their reward five minutes after the restart when Karl Duguid turned home Cillian Sheridan's cross, and they would have been in front within three minutes had Steve Harper not pulled off a fine save to keep out Gary Sawyer's curling effort.[LNB]Hughton decided enough was enough with 59 minutes gone, replacing Joey Barton and Lovenkrands with Danny Guthrie and Nile Ranger, and it took Guthrie just two minutes to pick out the unmarked Kevin Nolan, who restored the Magpies' advantage with a close-range header.[LNB]From that point on, there was only one winner and Andy Carroll, who might have collected a hat-trick in a rousing finale, helped himself to a third six minutes from time to complete a victory which helped to erase the disappointment at Bloomfield Road.[LNB]Taylor said: "That was a little blip for us, we know that, but on Saturday, we showed we are back on track and we mean business now."[LNB]Off the pitch, business remains slow, if not stagnant, with Hughton still attempting to bring in a striker on loan - Marlon Harewood and Diomansy Kamara are among his targets - and a deal to sell the club still far from completion despite managing director Derek Llambias having confirmed, once again, that there is at least one offer of £100million on the table.[LNB]For Argyle boss Paul Sturrock, the problems remain on the field of play, although he was at least able to take comfort from a committed display.[LNB]He said: "I am sorry for the players. I shook every player's hand as they came off the football pitch.[LNB]"They gave everything they had. I think my team is beginning to come together.[LNB]"But people will be looking at three goals against again."[LNB][LNB]

Source: Team_Talk