Newcastle 3 Scunthorpe 0

The Championship game between Newcastle United and Scunthorpe United at St James's Park on Wednesday March 17 2010.

Andy Carroll demonstrated why he would be foolish to turn his back on England on Wednesday night as his two cracking finishes eased Newcastle towards the finishing line in the race for the Premier League.

The towering England Under-21 targetman is at the centre of a proverbial international tug-of-war thanks to his Scottish roots and while he might not be the finished article his endeavours for the Championship leaders again underlined his immense potential.

A rapidly improving Carroll, 21, and Peter Lovenkrands took their goal-scoring tallies this term to 14 apiece leaving Chris Hughton's Championship leaders needing a maximum of five more wins to guarantee a return to top-flight football after they overwhelmed Scunthorpe United.

Scunthorpe had never won at St James' Park and the prospect of Nigel Adkins' team re-writing the record books on their first visit to the Tyneside since 1963-64 quickly faded Lovenkrands tested Joe Murphy with a low left-footed shot before Carroll put a team undefeated at home all season on course for victory when he rose above the Scunthorpe defence to powerfully nod in Danny Guthrie's corner in the 10th minute.

Nolan had header disallowed for offside following Guthrie's clever dinked free-kick and Lovenkrands struck the crossbar from close range after Murphy spilled Jose Enrique's cross as Newcastle dominated.

Murphy, whose team beat Newcastle 2-1 at Glanford Park last October, then denied Carroll with a fine save as Scunthorpe fought to stay in the contest.

The Iron had no answer, though, to Lovenkrands' slick movement and the Dane scored for the sixth consecutive game when he confidently beat Murphy following Wayne Routledge's incisive pass in the 22nd minute.

It was a case of deja vu four minutes later following Routledge's pull-back but Murphy was equal to Lovenkrands first-time shot as Hughton's side threaten to humiliate opponents for whom goal-difference could prove to be vital to their fortunes this term.

Adkins was said to have rested key players such as striker Gary Hooper with crunch games looming and it meant Newcastle were able to cruise to their sixth consecutive home victory.

The highlight of a one-sided second half that at times drifted was Carroll's second goal of the evening as he latched on to the increasing influential Guthrie's pass before delicately lifting the ball over Murphy from an acute angle to show there is plenty of brain as well as brawn for this Geordie.

The standing ovation the former St James' Park ball-boy received when substituted by Hughton said it all.