Sat 6th Mar - Newcastle 6

A little bit of a surprise performance but evidence that when Danny Guthrie is played in the centre of the park then he can be hugely influential. It does also help to have Peter Lovenkrands upfront as his pace and movement can create difficulties for defenders as he makes spaces for himself and others.

The ball was actually in the net very early on with Carroll winning a flick on down the touch line and Lovenkrands running on to round the keeper and score. Unfortunately Carroll was either offside or fouled the defender as Lovenkrands was most certainly on. The penalty I'm not so sure about. Personally I thought it wasn't from where I was sitting as the keeper didn't look to get anything on Lovenkrands. The problem for goalkeepers is that if they come flying out at the feet of a striker and don't get the ball then it's a difficult decision for the referee. Lovenkrands was obviously concious of the keeper coming towards him and as he steered the ball away from the keeper he was looking to maintain his balance in expectation of the incoming collision. The keeper didn't make the contact but Lovenkrands ended up off balance and from the perspective of the referee it was a difficult call to make. No issues firing home the penalty as Lovenkrands continued his good record of finding the net from the spot.

Second half was a different game. Kadar who had come on for the once again injured Enrique (worrying times) looked very good at left back and playing against one less man allowed him to build confidence throughout the game and start to make runs forward. He was helped hugely by Gutierrez who had been playing out on the right earlier in the match and is probably our key player as he's the one you can give the ball to when there's nothing else on. Carroll who was largely quiet all afternoon partly due to the fact we weren't lumping the ball through the air at him, put in a lovely cross with his left foot for Lovenkrands to score the second with a well taken header. It's nice to see that it works the other way round with the 'little' striker just as confident in the air as our big man.

There was a sudden realisation after the second goal that the Barnsley substitute keeper was in fact the worst keeper anyone has ever seen play at SJP therefore just getting a decent shot on target would result in a goal. Guthrie benefited twice from just awful goalkeeping to score from miles out twice. The first shot may have had a bit power behind it but it wasn't one of those that goes in the corner of the goal and I'd have expected any decent keeper to make a solid save. His second was a flighted in free kick that evaded everyone including the keeper who in my opinion wasn't positioned well enough for dealing with a set piece.

In between times the Spiderman mask finally appeared from wherever Gutierrez produces it from. It has been a long time coming (the last one doesn't count and he's was fortunate to score it) but well worth the wait. Running at a 90 degree angle to the goal and finding the top corner via the crossbar from 25 yards. Can't really blame the goalkeeper for that one as it was just sublime football from the Argentinian. The whole thing was finished off with a typical Nolan run from midfield catching everyone off guard including their keeper who he promptly sat down on his backside with a neat feint before rolling the ball into the empty net. Of course we had time to give them one back with the pretty impressive Bogdanovic taking his goal well. What Simpson was thinking I've no idea as he put silly pressure on Coloccini with the most stupid of backwards headers.

The inclusion of Pancrate on the pitch helped today as it meant two wingers were playing. He's not a brilliant player by any means but he does stay out wide which helps maintain formation and keep the pitch as big as possible. The two centre halves rarely look troubled in this division against opposition strikers. It's hard to tell whether the opposition is just so poor or if Coloccini has now settled in as he looks a far better player this year. Williamson at this level is also very good. At the next level it may be different but the likes of Everton have dipped into this league to find centre halves that can work in the Premiership so why shouldn't we?

Lovenkrands who appears only to score at home could easily finish as top goalscorer this season. We've been looking for someone who can finish and he looks like the man in the short term. I don't think we can afford to go splashing amounts of money on a 'big name' striker in the summer should we be promoted and therefore we'll have to look at what we have. Obviously the vultures will be looking to secure players from the relegated Premiership sides and stand out individuals in the Championship. We shall be amongst the vultures. The back pages of the Chronicle say that Tom Cleverley is highly sought after by Hughton. He's playing on loan at Watford right now but is in reality a Manchester United player. At the core we don't have a bad side, although I don't want to stand too strongly behind those words as our team has rarely been tested week after week like it will be in the league above. I'd like to think had we been playing top flight football this season then we'd be sitting somewhere in midtable as we look to have a lot more about us than teams from Bolton downwards.

At this stage in the season I can't really see us failing to get promoted. At the start of February it looked as though we had hit the doldrums and were going to be reeled in by West Brom and Forest. However everyone suddenly started to row together when we were looking for inspiration and big performances at the right times has us heading towards the finishing line a length or two in front at the moment. Hopefully we can keep it that way.