Carroll in dive row as Reds crisis deepens
NEWCASTLE (2) vs LIVERPOOL (0)
LIVERPOOL manager Kenny Dalglish leapt to the defence of Andy Carroll yesterday, after his £35m striker was accused of diving in a vain attempt to win a penalty during a nightmare return to Tyneside.
Newcastle kept their faint Champions League hopes alive with a brace from Papiss Cisse – the man who inherited Carroll’s No9 shirt – before Liverpool ended the game with 10 men, crashing to their sixth Premier League defeat in seven.
The Geordie faithful hounded the returning Carroll, who was booked in the 10th minute for taking a tumble in the box, but Dalglish insisted the forward was wrongly punished for simulation. “I don’t think it was a penalty but neither did I think Andy was trying to get a penalty,” said the Scot. “It was harsh to show him a yellow card. He was struggling to keep his balance.”
Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul disagreed, saying: “He just went over. He dived. I never touched him.”
Liverpool were denied a penalty with the score still goal-less when Danny Simpson appeared to nudge the ball off the line with his upper arm. Their frustration was compounded three minutes later, when Hatem Ben Arfa curled a cross to the far post that Cisse headed in.
Cisse’s second came in the 58th minute when he rounded Pepe Reina and slotted home, despite suspicions of offside. Reina was then sent off in the final 10 minutes after appearing to headbutt James Perch.