*Andy Carroll grabbed a hat-trick and Kevin Nolan scored twice as Newcastle thrashed Aston Villa.*

Joey Barton gave the Magpies the lead when he thumped in from 20 yards before Nolan headed in on the half-hour mark and Carroll drilled in to make it 3-0.

Carroll volleyed his second from 12 yards after the break, Nolan hooked in the fifth from close range before Carroll swept in his third late on.

John Carew wasted Villa’s best chance when he blazed his penalty over at 0-0.

Had Villa converted their early penalty then the game may have taken on a different complexion.

Newcastle’s major frailty remains their lack of pace and that was exposed early on by speedy forward Ashley Young.

Villa’s most potent threat won a penalty for his side in the ninth minute when he was brought down by keeper Steve Harper after Young had been picked out by Stiliyan Petrov.

Norway international Carew stepped up but smashed his penalty high over Harper’s crossbar.

The scare woke Newcastle up and moments later Barton, who promised to shave off his moustache once his side recorded their first league win, scored a spectacular opener on 12 minutes.

The former Manchester City midfielder picked up a pass from winger Jonas Gutierrez on the left before drifting inside and hitting a 20-yarder that dipped late and flew through Brad Friedel’s hands.

Up until then Villa had enjoyed more than 60% of the possession but that dominance dwindled as Newcastle’s confidence grew.

Their second goal came after 30 minutes, when left-back Jose Enrique surged forward and whipped in a cross that found Carroll at the far post. He nodded back for Nolan, whose initial header was saved by Friedel but then stayed composed to head in the rebound.

Two minutes later the Newcastle faithful were in jubilant mood as Carroll swept in after Richard Dunne had failed to clear Mike Williamson’s cushioned header from Barton’s corner.

It was expected that Villa would come out firing after the break, but that never materialised and Newcastle continued to run the game.

They charged forward again and scored their fourth when Williamson won a tussle on the edge of the area and found 6ft 3in Carroll who outmuscled his defender, kept his eye on the ball and fired in a low volley.

It was reminiscent of former Magpies number nine Alan Shearer in his pomp.

Newcastle already had four on the board but never would they have envisaged matching Arsenal’s and Chelsea’s 6-0 wins over Blackpool and Wigan this weekend.

But four soon became six in the final few minutes. First, the industrious Nolan bravely hooked in from inside the six-yard area and then Carroll put his own stamp on an unforgettable day by converting substitute Xisco’s pass from 12 yards.

*Villa caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald*

“It might have been too much playing a couple of kids, maybe I was a bit wrong with my selection,” said MacDonald.

Regarding the Villa job, he added: “I’ve said come the end of next week I’d sit down and look at things.

“It was a very disappointing result,” he stated. “We started well and got the penalty but then Carew missed and it changed the momentum.

“We then got hammered. Even if we had scored it doesn’t mean we would have held on and won the game but full credit to Newcastle. They took chances and played well, especially in the second half, but when you’re 3-0 up it helps.”