The gloves are coming off now. With a third of the season remaining, Aston Villa, having “bullied” Newcastle United into submission, are sustaining a realistic fight to qualify for the Uefa Cup. John Carew wore gloves in a muted first half before throwing them aside to score the hat-trick that confirmed Martin O’Neill’s team as heavyweight challengers for a European place.
While Kevin Keegan’s demoralised players return to the coalface for a fortnight’s training on the basics, with both teams out of the FA Cup, Villa have earned the sunshine break for which they depart this week. Carew will not need his gloves in warmer climes; on Saturday’s evidence, he should leave them off altogether.
“I have been wearing gloves for two months now and I am used to wearing them,” the Norway striker said. “I was smashing hands with Freddy Bouma and he had this warming cream on and if I put that on the gloves and then wiped it across my face afterwards I wouldn’t be able to see. So I took them off.”
Bouma was celebrating his first goal for Villa, a deflected right-foot shot that cancelled out Michael Owen’s early opener, before Carew caught fire. Newcastle were marginally the better team in the first half with Owen excelling in front of Franco Baldini and Stuart Pearce, the England coaches, with a sharpness of movement that was exemplified by the manner in which he stole on to James Milner’s near-post cross to head in his second goal in successive matches.
Once O’Neill had addressed the weakness of his right flank during the interval, however, the fragility of Newcastle’s mettle was exposed. Ashley Young switched wings, Marlon Harewood joined Carew up front and Shaun Maloney started cutting in dangerously from the left flank. Within six minutes of the restart Villa were ahead, Carew flicking home Young’s corner, and another impassioned sell-out crowd – they are on course for their highest average for 59 years at Villa Park – ensured that the momentum stayed with the home team.
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In the absence of the injured Gabriel Agbonlahor, Harewood provided Carew with a muscular foil and Newcastle wilted under the pressure. “We’re a couple of heavyweights and they couldn’t cope with us,” Carew said. Steve Harper, who came on for the injured Shay Given, produced fine saves from two drives by Craig Gardner, but he could not keep out Carew’s second, a close-range header after a barrage of efforts from Maloney, Gareth Barry and Harewood.
When Stephen Carr handled in the last minute, Barry told Carew to take the penalty and Villa’s leading scorer smashed in his ninth goal of the season. It was the first hat-trick by a home-team player at Villa Park since Savo Milosevic 13 years ago.
Carew has the capabilities and the aura to become a far more enduring Villa Park hero. His manager is satisfied with his target man’s contribution since he signed him from Lyons 13 months ago but believes that he can reach these heights more frequently. “He’s an affable lad,” O’Neill said. “Those performances, I believe he’s capable of them on a more permanent basis. I’m not saying he should end up with a hat-trick every week, I just think he should use his great strength, turn people and get shots off, not concentrate on flicks and so on.
“Sometimes I think he could be a wee bit more selfish. Playing like that could make a big difference.”
Villa lost only one of their last 11 matches after their mid-season break this time last year and, with only one game a week to work around, Carew made the point that having a smaller squad becomes an advantage if injuries can be avoided because players are more accustomed to playing with one another. Without mentioning Stiliyan Petrov, whose habitual diffidence seems to make him back away from challenges, he added that Villa can only maintain their high tempo if all 11 players on the field are competing at the same level.
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Keegan, who is without a win in five matches since returning to Newcastle, spoke of attempting to rebuild the spirit at the club, but it is a long-term malaise. “We were getting bullied by Carew, especially, and Harewood,” he said. “They could do almost anything they wanted.” He accepted that Newcastle’s immediate challenge is to avoid a relegation battle. For Villa, their excursion to southern Europe this week could be a taster for more regular continental travel next season.
How they rated
Aston Villa (4-4-2): S Carson 6 – O Mellberg 4 C Davies 7 M Laursen 7 W Bouma 6 – S Petrov 3 N Reo-Coker Y 6 G Barry 6 A Young 6 – S Maloney 6 J Carew Y 8 Substitutes: C Gardner 7 (for Mellberg, 46min), M Harewood 7 (for Petrov, 46), I Osbourne (for Young, 90) Not used: S Taylor, Z Knight. Next: Reading (a).
Newcastle United (4-4-2): S Given 5 – H Beye 4 C Caçapa 4 S Taylor 5 S Carr 4 – J Milner 7 J Barton 4 N Butt Y 5 D Duff 6 – A Smith 5 M Owen 7 Substitutes: S Harper 5 (for Given, 54min), Emre Bel?zoglu (for Barton, 74) Not used: J Enrique, A Faye, M Viduka. Next: Manchester United (h).