Source: Northern_Echo
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Newcastle United 1
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Newcastle United 1 JOEY BARTON has been called plenty of things during his career, but the phrase pacifist has rarely been applied to the tempestuous 27- year-old. Never one to shy away from controversy, Barton has been involved in so many scrapes, both on and off the field, that it is hard to imagine him as anything other than a rabblerouser. True, there has been restraint in the past. But it has generally involved someone grabbing hold of him to prevent him inflicting further damage. So when Wolves' players adopted the policy of trying to kick Barton off the field on Saturday, there was every chance of the Newcastle midfielder rising to their bait. With Karl Henry leaping into his legs at every opportunity, and substitute Adlene Guedioura threatening to inflict serious damage with a reckless challenge that brought him crashing to his knees, it seemed only a matter of time until the red mists descended and Barton attempted to extract his own form of revenge. Yet save for a justified moan at Wolves boss Mick McCarthy at the final whistle, the one-time England international chose to let his football do the talking. Better to provide the assist for Andy Carroll's headed second-half equaliser than to be sent to the dressing room for hotheadedness. Clearly, it is too early to claim that a corner has been turned. But given the criticism that has rightly been heaped on him in the past, it only fair to award similar praise for Barton's equanimity despite intense provocation. I think Wolves possibly targeted Joey, but he can handle things like that, said teammate Mike Williamson, who was on the receiving end of a number of choice tackles himself as referee Stuart Attwell struggled to control an illtempered game that occasionally threatened to descend into anarchy. Other teams think they can wind him up, but he's old enough now that he's wise to it. He played unbelievably well and produced a real battling performance. There were people trying to wind him up, but he's bigger than that. He handled it well, but he knows what to expect. He's very professional and he went about his job. He got his own back by putting the free-kick in for the goal. He did his talking on the field and let the referee deal with the rest. Whether Attwell was capable of controlling Wolves' players is a moot point, and it could certainly be argued that Henry's 85th-minute leap into Barton, a challenge that finally earned the midfielder the ninth of the 12 yellow cards that were eventually displayed, was worthy of a straight dismissal. Nevertheless, with his reputation preceding him, Barton will have to get used to opponents singling him out for special treatment. With that in mind, Saturday represented a significant hurdle overcome. I think discipline has to be something that goes with where Joey is at the moment, said Chris Hughton. Even though he had to take fouls and yellow cards on him, I think Joey is aware that we want to see more of him on the football pitch. He's missed a fair chunk through injury in the last couple of years and I think he's really pleased and grateful to be fit and playing. That comes with a responsibility for staying on the pitch. We've always said about Joey that there's never been any doubt about his ability it's just making sure he's on the pitch whenever we want him. Memorably, that wasn't the case at Anfield in the final throes of Newcastle's relegation season, when Barton launched into an inexplicable lunge on Xabi Alonso that wrecked his relationship with the club's then manager, Alan Shearer. Comparisons with two years ago are particularly relevant in relation to Saturday's draw, as it is instructive to imagine what would have happened had the match taken place then. Sebastian Bassong, for all his ability on the ground, would have been out-muscled in the air by Sylvan Ebanks- Blake, Obafemi Martins would have disappeared without trace after finding himself on the receiving end of a thumping early challenge, and Michael Owen would no doubt have been sitting in the stands nursing a minor hamstring complaint. The current crop of Newcastle players are different. Save a brief blip when Ebanks-Blake stole between Williamson and James Perch to bring down Jelle Van Damme's cross and hammer a crisp half-volley past Steve Harper, the Magpies defended robustly throughout, with Fabricio Coloccini continuing his fine start to the season. Their midfielders were equally impressive, with Barton and Alan Smith snapping here, there and everywhere as they controlled large spells of the game, and in attack, Carroll dominated the imposing Christophe Berra for the entire 80 minutes he was on the field despite the niggling ankle injury that prevented him from training for most of last week. It's hard to talk specifics about two years ago without being critical of the group of lads from back then, but the fact is that we did lose that type of game a couple of years ago, said Hughton. We really had to battle for a point. They might have claimed even more had they taken either of the gilt-edged firsthalf opportunities that came their way, but Kevin Nolan blazed over when well placed 12 yards out and Carroll also failed to hit the target after finding space in the area three minutes before half-time. Ebanks-Blake's goal came somewhat against the run of play, even though the striker had earlier hit a post from a corner, and while Wolves might well have scored a second had Attwell awarded a penalty for Perch's mistimed tackle on Matt Jarvis, Newcastle continued to dominate after the break. Carroll's equaliser was no more than they deserved, and both Nolan and Shola Ameobi came close to earning a winner, only for first Marcus Hahnemann and then Stephen Ward to intervene. Matchfacts Goals: 1-0: Ebanks-Blake (43, controlled Foley's chipped cross and hammered home half-volley from eight yards) 1-1: Carroll (63, powerful header from Barton's floated free-kick) Bookings: Doyle (22, dissent), Van Damme (38, foul), Carroll (42, dissent), Jarvis (45, foul), Zubar (62, foul), Nolan (64, foul), Guedioura (80, foul), Berra (83, foul), Henry (85, foul), Ameobi (89, foul), Perch (90, foul), Barton (90, foul) Referee: Stuart Attwell (Nuneaton) - Lost control at an early stage, and failed to regain it despite an incredible 12 yellow cards 2 Attendance: 27,745 Entertainment: WOLVES (4-4-2): Hahnemann 6; Foley 6, Craddock 6, Berra 4, Ward 5; Jarvis 6, Henry 5, Jones 6 (Guedioura 72), Van Damme 6 (Zubar 56, 4) ; Doyle 4 (Fletcher 72), EBANKS-BLAKE 7. Subs (not used): Hennessey (gk), Edwards, Mancienne, Stearman. NEWCASTLE (4-5-1): 6 Harper: Couldn't have done anything with the goal and had very little to do either side of that 5 Perch: Should have conceded a penalty when he mistimed a second-half tackle on Jarvis 7 Coloccini: Displayed commendable composure throughout and has improved his positional play considerably 7 Williamson: Made a number of important aerial interventions and looks comfortable at Premier League level 6 Enrique: Held things together well at the back and linked up effectively with Gutierrez on a number of occasions 6 Routledge: His pace provided a valuable outlet, and he almost set up a goal after rounding Hahnemann early on 8 SMITH: Tackled tigerishly from first minute to last and has more than justified his place in the starting line-up 6 Nolan: Should have scored in the first half, and directed a half-volley too close to Hahnemann in the second 8 Barton: Displayed impressive restraint despite considerable provocation and delivered the cross for Carroll's goal 6 Gutierrez: Sprang into life sporadically, even if he was reluctant to beat his marker on the outside 8 Carroll: Took his goal superbly and bossed both Wolves centre-halves in another eye-catching display Sub: Ameobi (for Carroll, 80) (not used): Krul (gk), Kadar, R Taylor, Vuckic, Ranger, Lovenkrands. MAN OF THE MATCH ALAN Smith there were a number of candidates, but Smith gets the nod for his work rate and relentless tackling.