Bellamy and Gerrard sink Newcastle

Craig Bellamy bagged a brace and Steven Gerrard was also on the scoresheet as Liverpool boosted their bid for a top four Premier League finish with a 3-1 win over Newcastle at Anfield on Friday. Liverpool trailed due to Daniel Agger's own goal midway through the first half, but Bellamy equalised soon after and the former Newcastle striker netted another goal from a free-kick in the second half. England midfielder Gerrard, who has missed most of the season due to injury, capped a fine cameo performance from the substitutes bench with his side's third goal. Liverpool are now in fifth place in the league, level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea, while Newcastle remain seventh. Gerrard expressed his delight at being able to play again. "It's good to be back. I've had a terrible year with a lot of injuries but I just want to look forward," Gerrard told Sky Sports 1. "I'm delighted to be back with the lads today, to get on the scoresheet and get three points was a perfect return. It's great to be back." Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said the second goal had decided the match but was full of praise for his players and their campaign so far. "We've done brilliant, we've got some very good players and we've had a really really good calendar year," he said. "We need to take that now into next year, and if we do anything like this last year, we may.surprise ourselves and the opposition in the league. "We're still in a good position even though we were beaten tonight." All eyes were on misfiring Liverpool striker Andy Carroll who has struggled for goals since completing a £35 million move from Newcastle last January. With Uruguay striker Luis Suarez suspended, Carroll was charged with leading Liverpool's attack yet the 22-year-old has not found the net in a Liverpool shirt for almost seven hours. Pressure had been growing on Liverpool after their failure to kill off teams at home threatened to cost them a top-four finish. But they travel to league leaders Manchester City on January 3 with hopes of securing a place in next season's Champions League very much alive. Just as they did against bottom-of-the-table Blackburn on Monday, Liverpool were forced to come from behind despite making the brighter start. Newcastle took the lead in the 25th minute when Yohan Cabaye's flick, following Ryan Taylor's cross from the left, deflected off Agger's shoulder and flew past Pepe Reina. But Newcastle's lead lasted just five minutes as Bellamy seized on Cheik Tiote's half clearance to find the net from 12 yards after smashing the ball through a sea of legs. Martin Skrtel then flashed a header narrowly wide before Newcastle were fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men after Cabaye's ugly challenge on Jay Spearing. With more than half an hour to go, Dalglish sent on Gerrard and it was Liverpool's captain who proved the difference between the two teams in the end. Within moments of his introduction he teed-up Carroll with a pinpoint cross only for the striker to lose control of the ball after a shocking first touch. But Carroll played his part in Bellamy's second from a 25-yard free-kick as Liverpool made it 2-1 in the 67th minute. Newcastle defender Danny Simpson should have cleared the set-piece but only succeeded in getting in Tim Krul's way, and with the keeper already unsighted by Carroll, the ball flew straight in. Skrtel denied Demba Ba an equaliser before Carroll headed Gerrard's inviting cross against the woodwork. But Liverpool ensured they rounded off 2011 with a win when Gerrard found the net from an accute angle from inside the area in the 78th minute. After the match, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said he will be glad to see the back of 2011 because he believes 2012 could be a big year for Gerrard. "It's great to see him get the reward because he has worked really hard to get where he is," said Dalglish after Gerrard climbed off the subs bench to score his side's third goal. "It was a freak injury that got him in trouble in the first place so the boy deserves a wee bit of luck. Maybe 2012 will bring him that. "He is getting his way back to fitness. It's fantastic reward for him and everybody who has helped him to get back to the level he is at the moment. "He will continue to work on his fitness. He has always been a huge asset to the club and he's got a lot of years to go. We'll look forward to those years."