Newcastle United v Aston Villa - as it happened

Papiss Demba Cissé scored a sensational winning goal on his debut to lift Newcaste into fifth place in the table

Newcastle Leon Best (right) has a shot blocked by Aston Villa fans' favourite Stephen Warnock (floor). 

Full-time: Newcastle hold possession astutely and go level on points with Chelsea. The Dembaes doing for Newcastle what they couldn't do for Senegal and scoring a goal apiece. Cissé's debut goal was simply sensational. It's still early days but it looks like Pardew has been decisive in the transfer market again and has signed another cracker.

90+1 min: Newcastle are holding the ball in the corner to waste a few seconds and let me get another email in: "Can I ask whether your use of the ">" sign (45, 56, 74 mins) is another example of youth punctuation like #thisone (the meaning of which I'm proud to say has passed me by at the age of 32)? I can't even say that I'm fascinated by this question having typed it: may have more to do with the fact that it's 11.15pm on Sunday in Singapore and I'm (still) at work... Perhaps more to the point, I think that more mbm effort needs to go into a collective name for the newcastle strikeforce. Three minutes to get that done, off you go," writes James Arrandale. Erm. I reckon the > is an underused symbol. Nah it's probably my oaf-like fingers missing the target like Andy Carroll.

89 min: Ba is given a rousing standing ovation as he departs and on in his place is Shola Ameobi. Three minutes of injury time.

87 min: Hang on! Villa are having a right old go now. Gardner goes close again. Bannan curls an inswinging come-and-hit-me ball in from the right that Gardner glances at goal, but Coloccini gets in the way of it and the ball deflects fortuitously straight into the path of Krul. He spills it and with Heskey ambling in, he grabs it at the second attempt.

85 min: It's Clark's last touch. On in his stead is Gary Gardner, who sounds like a local commercial radio station DJ. He has a great chance with his first touch, but curls his attempted strike over from 18 yards after Petrov put a pass in front of him that he should have relished. There was no belief in his effort. He's 19, mind and he's got an uncool name. I'd lack belief it I was him.

82 min: Villa come to life, at last. Ciaran Clark thunders a shot straight down Krul's throat after Bent had latched on to a pass in behind Newcastle's defence but found himself pegged back.

81 min: Cissé sends a shuddering volley a yard wide after the ball drops to him on the edge of the box. Given had it covered but it was a fantastic hit. There's some amount of biff in his left boot.

76 min: Cissé is flagged offside after Gutierrez played an angled ball in behind the Villa defence. He was half a yard off. So while Newcastle continue to dominate, here's an email. "It's rare that I thoroughly disagree with Lord Naylor, " begins Niall Mullen, showing Gary Naylor far too much respect, "but Warnock's challenge was an obvious attempt to block, he wasn't out of control and Taylor's injury came from kicking his foot. The pundits did cone up with the usual 'not that sort of player' guff which made me wonder whether it was a reckless tackle. It wasn't." If I can pipe up here Niall, the replays showed that the risk of serious injury from the tackle/block was pretty high. And the referees seem to have been disregarding intent when making decisions this season and penalising any challenge where serious injury is possible. This comes into that category but perhaps blocks are a grey area. Anyway, back to the match …

74 min: January's striker signings have done all right> Zamora, Cissé and, erm, Cissé. All profiting. Newcastle have been much the better side this half. They have been much more controlled than they were in the first half. Alan Pardew eh?

72 min: Goal! Newcastle 2-1 Aston Villa (Cissé). Hello! This is a stunner. Gutierrez rampages up the left-hand-side and and cuts a cross back to the edge of the box where the new-signing has cleverly found space between Warnock and Dunne. He takes one touch and unleases a blistering left-fotted strike into the top-left hand corner that couldn't be stopped by two Shay Givens. Welcome to Tyneside.

70 min: Bannan does his bit to breathe life into the art of taking a corner, by whipping it in OVER THE FIRST MAN, but it is cleared.

68 min: The Villa fans give McLeish an earful after that baffling substitution. Villa create a chance, mind. And it's Warnock who creates it. Yup. A decent cross in from the left that Bent slams straight at Cuellar, who blocks diligently. Villa win a free-kick after Keane is felled. It's played short and Hutton forces a corner.

66 min: Nzogbia off and Heskey on. Alex McLeish must enjoy being hated.

63 min: "The badge sounds almost appealing," writes Tom Bryant's tormentor, Shaun Clapperton. "Good to see Tom took it in the spirit intended too." That was a happy-clappy ending, Shaun. You should have gone for the juggular. Newcastle are completely bossing this. Their passing is crisp, accurate and quick. Obertan has a shot blocked but Villa just can't keep hold of possession when they regain it. Newcastle have had 75% of it in the last 10 minutes.

60 min: Guttierez shows great power and pace on the left to force Bannan into dragging him down. The free-kick is cleared but after a second-wave attack, Guthrie picks out Cissé, who unmarked and 10 yards out, heads over wastefully. That was his big moment. And he fluffed it.

56 min: Newcastle are controlling this now. Guthrie and Perch are working phenomenally hard in midfield to keep the tempo up and regain possession at every opportunity. As much as Obertan hasn't had the best game, he is seeing a lot of the ball> Well, he would do, with Warnock at left-back.

53 min: Newcastle continue to press. Obertan makes another poor decision after being played into the inside-right channel and being given the chance to test Dunne for pace. But Obertan doesn't fancy himself and takes an early, shocking clout with his right foot, the ball spinning off his boot up and away, yards right of the goal. I once remember a Man City fan telling me that Dunne is "fast in a straight line". Really?

52 min: It's a mistake by that man Warnock again. Cissé nicks possession off him on the halfway line after the left-back was guilty of dawdling on the ball like a pensioner playing five-a-side. Only a poor touch by Cissé and his team-mates get him out of jail. He's having a shocker.

50 min: Newcastle have started the half very positively. Guthrie sweeps a wonderful ball from left to right, all of 45 yards, to Obertan on the right, who doesn't seem to read it and can't reach it before it goes out of play. That was shoddy by Obertan. But not surprising, really. He's not the best is he?

47 min: Guthrie, who is a player I think is growing in stature this season, whips a lovely ball in to the penlty area from the left that causes an almight mix-up between Cuellar, Dunne and Given, the ball bouncing an inch from Ba and ricocheting among the defenders and goalkeeper, before Dunne gets a size 10 to it and jabs it straight at Cissé's head. Before he can get a shot off Dunne does a better job of clearing it and Villa breathe again. That was a shaky start to the second half.

45 min: Stephen Ireland has been replaced by Barry Bannan. After mentioning Ireland in my first-minute entry I actually forgot he was playing> i don't know if he touched the ball again after that. He was being played on the right, mind. Seems a better fit in the centre.

Some emails

An embarrassed colleague writes: "Of course it was: Bowyer, Barton - they both begin with a B. It's confusing. Shaun Clapperton wins a prize, selected at random from my desk. So empty cardboard coffee cup, today's Observer, pen lid, half-eaten bag of crisps or a pink badge with a smiley face. Take your pick Shaun." Tom Bryant's a generous man, Shaun, you've got to admit.

"On a weekend of red cards, that lunge from Warnock [before Ba's goal] is the most obvious of them all. Usual nonsense from ex-pros on commentary. Disgraceful foul," writes Gary Naylor. I've just seen the replay, Gary, and I agree with you. It's a lunge, and while he may have been attempting to block the ball, it could easily have broken Ryan Taylor's leg. Thankfully, the early indications are that he hasn't.

Silver Fox is back and Stephen Warnock hasn't exactly endeared himself to him after that shambolic first-half showing. "So you're seeing what I mean about him. Its not just recently he has been this poor - its all flaming season.
Maybe the ginger judas can't see to the other side of the pitch which is why he is still in the team. A typical Villa half. Lots of huff and puff, very little end product and happy to concede on their first proper attack. And then we equalise - typical. Got to get Warnock off at half time still. Absolutely dreadful but will take the cheeky equaliser - they are there for the taking I reckon. As an aside, I played someone on PES the other night (he was Napoli) and Heskey scored a hat trick of header, left foot and right foot. The poor lad I beat was mortified - imagine conceding a hat trick to the Lump. The shame." I reckon you ramped Heskey's stats up. To believe that would require an unrealistic stretch of one's imagination.

A tweet: "What is the plural of Demba? Dembas? Dembois? Dembaii?"

Half-time
Well, 1-1 is probably a fair reflection of that half. Newcastle have dominated possession but Villa have threatened on the break. Nzogbia's pace was electric to create the goal, and like Bent earlier, he stretched the Newcastle defence and made them look vulnerable. Your emails to follow …

45+4min: Goal! Newcastle 1-1 Aston Villa (Keane) Nzogbia does something! With the half petering out Nzogbia turns on the afterburners and roasts Obertan on the left wing, racing to the byline and crossing low into the path of Keane, who times his run to perfection to finish simply into the enpty net with Krul stranded. Keane deserved that, he's been Villa's best player by far.

45 min: Villa get lucky after some slipshod defending almost gifts Cissé a debut goal. Guthrie, from the right, whips a ball into the Corridor of Uncertainty TM where Cuellar flick his attempted headed clearance into the path of Cissé, who gets in front of Hutton but pokes wide while off-balance from eight yards out.

43 min: "Re 21 mins, you've been watching Liverpool too much. Players other than Charlie Adam have got their 'hit the 1st defender' percentage down to a solid 78%," parps Niall Mullen. A Villa corner comes to naff all just as Niall pipes up. Although whether it beat the first man is hard to say as it was angled so far away from goal as to almost work its way out of consideration as a corner.

41 min: There was a rare bit of invention from Villa then that didn't involve Keane. Petrov shaped to whip a free-kick in from the right, but deceives everyone by cutting it back across teh edge of teh box to Ireland, who curls a shot inches wide of the left-hand post. Bent went close with a shot just moments before, but found the sidenetting after being forced wide.

37 min: If there's something to collide with, Stephen Warnock will find it. He slides to clear the ball in the left-back position (yes, he was in position, Villa fans) and bounces up off the pitch and into the advertisement boards chest-first. He's on his feet again, much to the Villa fans' disapointment. He's been a bit of a shambles so far.

34 min: Obertan replaces Taylor. It's worth noting that Villa had a great chance just before the Newcastle goal when Dunne (yes Dunne!) played in Bent with perfectly weighted pass. Bent has looked dangerous. His pace is a constant threat and Keane has linked up well with him. It's not all gloomy for Villa by any stretch.

31 min: Ba is jojned in celebration in the corner by his Senegalese team-mate Cissé. The bad news for Newcastle, though, is that Taylor knacked his right leg in the challenge with Warnock when following up. He is carried off on a stretcher looking in an awful lot of pain.

29 min: Goal! Newcastle 1-0 Aston Villa (Ba, obviously).Normal service is resumed. Guthrie plays a ball in from the left wing, swinging it in towards the penalty area. Dunne can only head the ball as far as the penalty spot, where Taylor's shot is deflected by Warnock into the path of Ba, who takes one touch eight yards out, before rifling home into the left side of the gaping net.

26 min: Perch, Guthrie and Ba link up well before Ba finds Simpson on the overlap outside him on the right winfg. He takes a touch and plays a low cross towards the back of the area, where Cissé chests the ball cleverly over Cuellar, but is crowded out as he tries to unleash a shot at goal.

23 min: Warnock sends a stray pass in-field after looking up and seeing Bob Hope of a pass forwards. He then cracks his head and is left prone on the field for a few worrying minutes. He gets up eventually and gingerly makes his way back on to the pitch. Poor old Stephen Warnock.

The Blame Tom Bryant Department: "It was Lee Bowyer who fought with Dyer, not Barton. This was over two years before Barton signed for Newcastle. Surely a job on the Daily Record would be more suited to Mr Bryant's ability, or lack thereof, to use facts," chides Shaun Clapperton.

21 min: You probably guessed that Ryan Taylor's corner, like 99% of those ever taken by anyone ever, didn't beat the first man.

20 min: Ba has a crack from 35 yards. Dunne gets his considerable frame in the way of it and the ball spins out for a corner.

17 min: Keane has come to life for Villa in the last five minutes. His awareness of the space around him betrays his tendency in the past to look like he's rushing everything he does. His clever threaded passes and movement make it look like he's got time to spare as he picks his passes.

15 min: Cissé gets an early effort on target. It's a good header, 10 yards out and level with the near post, leaping higher than Warnock and forcing Given into an easy save.

14 min: Best is off and Cissé is on to rapturous Geordie applause. He comes on with Villa in the ascendancy, though.

12 min: Best hobbles off, which means Newcastle fans will get to see the Senegal attack in action earlier than expected. While he waits to come on, Keane shows great craft on the edge of the Newcastle box to spin to his left and slide Bent in on the left-hand side of the box. He is beaten by the narrowing angle, though, and his well-struck shot is saved by Krul.

10 min: Villa have hit some hopeless long balls in the direction of Bent. Newcastle already look more comfortable in possession. Guthrie steps in with authority to win the ball back in midfield after Ba does a better job of holding the ball up on the halfway line, the midfielder slides Best into the inside right channel and cuts inside, but Cuellar blocks his shot and leaves Best clutching his knee. He could be knacked.

8 min: Ba shows the Cup of Nations side of his game with a dreadfully misplaced pass back into midfield straight to Ireland when Guthrie was within feet of him.

5 min: Taylor tries a similar pass from the right looking to thread it through to Ba behind Cuellar this time. The defender stretches to cut it out but it's obvious that Newcastle are targeting the lack of pace in Villa's defence by playing the ball in behind them. Nzogbia needs a decent game today. The left-footed shot that he sends miles wide suggests he's not going to have one. Keane did well to set him up, though.

3 min: It already looks quite congested in the middle with Ba dropping deep looking for the ball when Newcastle gain possession. Gutierrez, whose name the Newcastle fans are singing gleefully, tries to slide Ba through behind Dunne, but his pass isn't hit hard enough and the defender cuts it out.

Kick-off: We're off. Stephen Ireland makes a meaty challenge on Newcastle's Perch and Ryan Taylor has a cross from the right headed clear. Bent stretches his legs to no avail as he chases after a Cuellar hoof clear. It's a messy start if ever I've seen one.

1.27pm: The teams emerge to a subdued sounding reception. I'm not gonna hype this for effect. Expected a bit more of a rousing reception. Anyway here's my colleague Tom Bryant with a theory: "Last time Villa beat Newcastle at St James' Park, Joey Barton got sent off for fighting with team-mate Kieron Dyer. Given that today he's trying to start on the entire world, does that bode well for Villa to shellack the Toon?" Erm, no Tom. But it does allow me to fill the 1.27pm email-entry slot in the absence of any others.

1.23pm: An email from the Silver Fox: " Spent the morning over the park with the children. Only wore a pair of trainers instead of wellies and I still can't feel my toes now. Anyway, enough of that. Thanks for tipping us for another 3-2 defeat! Still not got over last week's capitulation. We will miss Agbonlahor and Albrighton today, it's about time N'Zogbia started to get into his stride. Scored the other night so hopefully he will be amongst them again today. Just devastated to see Warnock still in the starting line up. The man is a liability and should be put out to pasture." Ryan Taylor isn't the quickest right midfielder around though, so perhaps that's why McLeish trusts him to do a job today, despite his own goal last time out.

1.19pm: Some classic Premier League stuff, courtesy of my colleague Jacob Steinberg. Some of this today would be nice …

1.15pm: It's worth noting how important this match is for the two teams today. If Newcastle win they can join fourth-placed Chelsea on 42 points. Did anyone ever expect that to be the case … in February? While Villa could go into the top half of the table. And with Alex McLeish facing contant criticism from Villa fans for being, well, Alex McLeish, that would help him in his battle to win over at least one fan. Villa's prosaic football often doesn't help his cause either, mind.

Preamble

Brrrrrrr. It's Sunday, it's snowing, so why isn't Britain broken? Damn you Southern Trains! I fancied a snow day today. Ah well, if today's early fixture is anything like as extraordinary as last season's – when Newcastle demolished Villa 6-0 at St James' Park and, wait for it you'll like this, Andy Carroll scored a hat-trick – I should be suitably warm by mid-afternoon. There could be plenty of goals today too, particularly if Demba Ba plays better than he did in the Africa Cup of Nations.

And in an exciting live development the Newcastle team has just dropped on the wires and he does indeed start. But his Senegal team-mate and new signing Papiss Demba Cissé is only on the bench. Yohan Cabaye is still supended so doesn't start in midfield and nor does Cheick Tioté (on Africa Cup of Nations duty) who I feel is as important for Newcastle as Ba is. His influence is huge. Danny Guthrie's performance in midfield may decide which way this game swings, as I expect Villa to be busy in the middle with Robbie Keane dropping deep to assist Stilian Petrov, Ciaran Clark and Stephen Ireland. Jinky middle man Hatem Ben Arfa is left on the bench by Alan Pardew, by the way. I find that a little odd, but not as odd as the knowledge that it hasn't snowed all that much in Newcastle.

Aston Villa's Shay Given can expect a warm reception from the home fans today in his first game back at St James' Park since he left in 2009. Whereas Darren Bent can expect a hot one seeing as he used to play for Sunderland.

My prediction: This will be fun (Newcastle 3-2 Aston Villa)

The teams

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon, Ryan Taylor, Guthrie, Perch, Gutierrez, Ba, Best. Subs: Elliot, Cisse, Ben Arfa, Gosling, Shola Ameobi, Obertan, Ferguson.
Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Cuellar, Dunne, Warnock, Ireland, Petrov, Clark, N'Zogbia, Keane, Bent. Subs: Guzan, Heskey, Bannan, Weimann, Lichaj, Baker, Gardner.
Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire)

Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/05/newcastle-united-aston-villa-mbm?newsfeed=true