I proved my point with goals, says Lovenkrands

Peter Lovenkrands has urged Newcastle boss Alan Pardew not to forget him after his two-goal Carling Cup salvo.

The 31-year-old Dane spent much of the summer watching the club's search for a long-term replacement for Andy Carroll, and has been forced to look on since as Leon Best has led the line in the Barclays Premier League.

However, Lovenkrands got his chance at Nottingham Forest last night and twice put the Magpies ahead with his first goals of the season to pave the way for a hard-fought 4-3 extra-time victory.

The Denmark international said: "I came in up front and scored two goals, so it kind of proves a point that I'm ready if needed.

"That was really my goal - to try to prove that I'm ready to play if they need me.

"A lot of people are saying, 'We need strikers, we need strikers', but I scored two and we scored two more from defenders afterwards, so we can score goals pretty much all over the pitch and we showed that.

"We probably should have done a wee bit better defensively, but that's down to us all from the front to the back."

Lovenkrands was one of nine men drafted into the starting line-up at the City Ground as Pardew rested the majority of the players who have lifted the club into fourth place in the Barclays Premier League table after an unbeaten start to the campaign.

He was joined by Hatem Ben Arfa, who had not made a competitive appearance for the club in almost 12 months because of a double leg fracture and then ankle ligament damage, as well as debutants Rob Elliot and Mehdi Abeid.

It took the visitors 39 minutes to edge their way in front of a Forest side desperate to bounce back from Saturday's 2-1 home defeat by Derby, which had prompted fresh criticism of manager Steve McClaren and his players after a tough start to the campaign.

Midfielder Sylvain Marveaux, who looked Newcastle's most dangerous player for much of normal time, produced the perfect left-wing cross to allow Lovenkrands to head home unopposed.

However, Robbie Findley levelled with a stinging strike seconds after the restart in what was to become something of a theme.

Lovenkrands restored the Magpies' lead from the penalty spot on the hour, only for Matt Derbyshire to claw the hosts back once again seven minutes later, and Danny Simpson's 93rd-minute fluke - a cross which sailed over goalkeeper Lee Camp's head and into the net - was cancelled out by Marcus Tudgay with five minutes of extra-time remaining.

The tie looked to be heading for penalties until skipper Fabricio Coloccini headed home in the second minute of extra-time to send Newcastle into the last 16.

Lovenkrands said: "We went ahead three times and they kept coming back.

"We kept giving silly goals away with unnecessary things, but it showed the spirit of the young boys out there on the pitch that every time they came back at us, we kept fighting, and in the end, Colo came up with another goal."

The game was a personal triumph too for Abeid, the 19-year-old former Lens midfielder, who suggested that his elevation from the development squad on a permanent basis might arrive sooner rather than later.

He told the club's official website, www.nufc.co.uk: "Before the game, I was a little bit nervous because it was my first game with any first-team and my first game for Newcastle.

"But it was a good game. I thought I did well and I can be even better in the future, I hope."

For Forest boss McClaren, the performance, if not the result, gave cause for optimism.

He said: "We want it to be a catalyst for better performances and results going forward.

"Everybody knows it's difficult when you join a new club with new players and a new environment. You have to adapt and they have to adapt to you.

"We want these performances more consistently and to make this a catalyst for better performances ahead and better results."

Nottingham Forest 3-4 Newcastle (aet): Fab finish for Pardew