Wolves 1-1 Newcastle United: Andy Carroll strike earns visitors point at Molineux

 
Before the whistle, Newcastle hadn't won at Molineux in five attempts and boss Chris Hughton recalled his first-choice XI, after resting them for the Magpies' midweek League Cup victory over Accrington Stanley, in an attempt to change that record.

And it was the visitors who looked sharpest from the kick off as they aimed for last week's hat-trick hero Carroll to start their attacks.

Indeed the striker nearly broke the deadlock for the visitors after exchanging some neat passes with Wayne Routledge. The winger, Routledge, played a one-two with Carroll and received the return pass in the hosts' box. Taking the ball past the advancing Marcus Hahnemann, he squared the ball but the pass was ever so slightly too far behind Carroll who was unable to turn it in for the opener.

The Magpies continued to bombard the Wolves defence, with central defenders Christophe Berra and Jody Craddock seeming to struggle with the physical presence of Carroll and again it was Newcastle's No.9 who was in the thick of the action.

The tall striker flicked on a lofted pass into the path of Kevin Nolan who mis-hit his first effort inside Wolves' box, but was given a second bite of the cherry after it had taken a deflection back into his path. However, the skipper was unable to guide his follow-up on target after some pressure from the home side's defence.

Newcastle continued to dominate possession but following Wolverhampton's first real attack, they were rewarded a corner and nearly took the lead.

A fierce in-swinging corner from David Jones found Sylvain Ebanks-Blake at the far post and the striker, who notched his first goal of the season last Saturday against Everton, headed the ball towards goal only to see his effort cannon off the post and out to safety.

That chance seemed to rejuvenate the home side, who had been under some intense pressure during the opening 25 minutes.

Wolves pressured the visitors for the following minutes and after a series of corners, they broke the deadlock on the 43rd minute.

Following a golden opportunity for Carroll down the other end in which he blazed over from six yards out, a glorious cross-field pass was capitalised on by Ebanks-Blake. The striker controlled the ball beautifully before shrugging off the challenge from James Perch and volleying the ball into the ground and past goalkeeper Steve Harper.

The home side managed to keep their lead intact as referee Stuart Atwell blew the whistle for the end of the first half.

Kevin Doyle and Ebanks-Blake resumed the game for the hosts and after a solitary second half minute, Wolves players surrounded the referee claiming a penalty.

Matthew Jarvis travelled with the ball down the wing and advanced into the opposition penalty area. The tricky midfielder flicked the ball past Perch and went over a trailing leg but referee Atwell waved play on, much to the annoyance of the home players and fans alike.

Wolves enjoyed five minutes of sustained pressure after the penalty claim but were unable to create a chance before Newcastle upped their game and drew level.

Joey Barton received the ball and drove down the line to centre the ball for Carroll, who showed great determination to beat the home side's defenders and powerfully header the ball in off the post.

The leveller lifted Newcastle and moments later they could have and perhaps should have taken the lead. Routledge tricked his way down the right flank and pulled the ball back to the onrushing Nolan who was forced to take his shot early and fired it straight at Hahnemann.

The visitors searched for a winner and in doing so manager Chris Hughton substituted goalscorer Carroll for Shola Ameobi, a move which nearly paid off almost immediately.

Barton's in-swinging corner found Ameobi whose looping header beat Hahnemann but was cleared off the line by Stephen Ward.

Jose Enrique then flew down the line and chipped the ball into the home side's penalty area which was met by Nolan who could only direct his header straight at Hahnemann.

Ultimately neither side was able to snatch a late winner and both teams left with a point which, on reflection, was a fair result on the balance of play.

Watch highlights of Wolves 1-1 Newcastle

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