Toon Play Spurs In Carling Cup!

Last updated : 30 August 2008 By Footy Mad - Editor

Newcastle plunged Tottenham boss Martin Jol into ever deeper trouble as they secured a fourth successive Premier League victory at St James' Park.

Obafemi Martins fired the home side in front on the stroke of half-time after embarrassing Michael Dawson, and the unmarked Claudio Cacapa made it 2-0 six minutes after the break with a powerful header.

Robbie Keane's seventh goal in as many games briefly gave the visitors hope with a 57th-minute strike, but substitute James Milner made sure with a 73rd-minute volley to cement his side's top-half position in the Premier League.

Jol's pre-match comments about his side's relative recent success compared to that of the Magpies was left to sound hollow as the Tyneside club completed a fourth successive league victory over the men from White Hart Lane.

Newcastle chairman Chris Mort took the opportunity in his programme notes to dismiss speculation that owner Mike Ashley is ready to buy into Spurs and the billionaire took his seat in the directors' box once again wearing his black and white shirt.

Ashley headed for the hospitality lounges at the break wearing a broad smile after seeing the Magpies eventually grind down a Spurs outfit low on confidence to take a deserved lead.

Newcastle had not lost at home this season before kick-off, while Spurs had not won outside of London, and after a reasonably even opening, a pattern started to emerge.

Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce had little choice but to pair England international Michael Owen and the similarly diminutive Martins in attack with Mark Viduka still nursing a calf injury and Shola Ameobi only fit enough for a seat on the bench.

However, despite some less than intelligent service at times, their pace and movement was simply too much for Younes Kaboul and Dawson.

That said, it was defender Abdoulaye Faye who came within inches of opening the scoring on 13 minutes when he thumped a header against the post from Charles N'Zogbia's corner.

The visitors, who started with Darren Bent up front and Dimitar Berbatov on the bench, might have gone ahead seconds after Faye had rattled the woodwork.

Jermaine Jenas' free-kick found Keane, but the Republic of Ireland skipper's shot was hacked off the line by Cacapa to the relief of Allardyce's defence.

Owen was left unmarked on 27 minutes to run on to Geremi's pass and curl a shot towards the bottom corner, which is exactly where it would have ended up had Paul Robinson's replacement Radek Cerny not managed to get his fingertips to it.

The goalkeeper distinguished himself once again two minutes before the break when, after Martins had brushed off the towering Kaboul to reach Jose Enrique's long ball, he blocked the striker's shot with his legs.

But Spurs did not learn the lesson and when the Spaniard launched the ball upfield two minutes later, Martins ran away from Dawson to control and fire through the goalkeeper for his fifth goal of the season.

Milner arrived as a half-time replacement for N'Zogbia and took up his place on the left wing.

Tottenham emerged in determined fashion with Keane, as ever, at the forefront, but their hopes were severely dented within six minutes when the Magpies increased their lead.

Dawson blocked a flicked header from Owen out for a corner, but when Emre delivered the ball to the near post, Cacapa ran in unopposed to power a header into the back of the net.

But as the home side sensed blood, the visitors grabbed a lifeline when Bent headed a Pascal Chimbonda cross against the post and saw the rebound sit up nicely for Keane to reduce the deficit.

Jol responded by sending on Berbatov in place of Steed Malbranque as St James' descended into a nervous hush, and the anxiety increased by the minute both on and off the pitch as the visitors took control.

The mood did not improve on 70 minutes when referee Steve Bennett waved away Nicky Butt's claims for a foul by Didier Zokora deep in the Spurs half, and the visitors raced away for Bent to blast over.

Allardyce decided the time was right for Joey Barton to make his competitive bow, and within two minutes of his arrival, his side restored their two-goal lead.

Kaboul was unable to clear his lines and although Milner miskicked his first effort, the ball fell nicely for him to blast a left-foot volley into the bottom corner and end Spurs' hopes of another comeback.

Michael Owen was on the scoresheet again as Newcastle took a huge stride towards Barclays Premier League safety with a 4-1 victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

Obafemi Martins added a fourth with eight minutes remaining, latching onto Joey Barton's pass and finishing calmly to seal the points.

It took Newcastle into the relative comfort of 12th place, and with 35 points they can almost start looking towards next season.

Managers towards the wrong end of the table say that back-to-back wins get teams out of trouble and Keegan has now provided that in style.

He waited two months for his first and now, like buses, two have come in quick succession.

The first came against a woeful Fulham side last week but this one, despite Spurs having little to play for, took character to come from a goal behind to turn it around and send the Newcastle fans home jubilant. "Keegan is our king," they sang.

Keegan had never met Spurs boss Juande Ramos but there were plenty of reunions elsewhere between the two teams, with Newcastle assistant boss Chris Hughton returning to his former club and Dennis Wise in the directors' box gesturing to his close friend Gus Poyet on the Spurs bench.

Jonathan Woodgate welcomed the Newcastle staff he worked with at St James' Park - then almost gifted his former side a fifth-minute opener.

His careless clearance went as far as Habib Beye, who composed himself in the penalty area but cracked his finish off the crossbar.

In Newcastle's bright opening, Paul Robinson was called into action to stop Martins' low drive when he found a yard of room on the edge of the box.

It was an easy save from Robinson, but there was nothing straightforward about his stop to deny Barton, who angled a drive towards the bottom corner after Spurs failed to deal with a throw.

Spurs applied early pressure of their own, with Robbie Keane at the heart of their attacks. He sent Bent through but Steve Harper saved the tame shot.

Keane had a penalty shout turned down when Abdoulaye Faye climbed on him to head clear and from the corner he was almost on the goalline when he stabbed wide, following in Woodgate's saved header.

For all of Keane's invention, it was Bent who opened the scoring in the 26th minute.

Steed Malbranque was given time on the left flank to switch the ball to his favoured right boot, then he swung over a cross that Bent glanced into the far corner.

Keegan had just given the visiting supporters the thumbs up but threw his arms in the air in disbelief at the simplicity of the opener.

It could have been worse when Bent raced through again. He was denied by Harper rushing out and Dimitar Berbatov blasted the rebound over the crossbar.

Faye had the ball in the net for the visitors before the break but there were no protests when it was ruled out of offside. Barton felt he had a more legitimate claim for a penalty when Michael Dawson used his body to block the ball.

Newcastle's equaliser came with seconds remaining in the first half, with Butt steering home after Geremi had pulled the ball back to the edge of the area.

Their second came in the 52nd minute after Woodgate had fouled Martins on the edge of the area. Geremi's free-kick went through the wall, leaving Robinson flat-footed.

Geremi could have inflicted more damage when he raced down the right but he was stopped by Jamie O'Hara, earning the Spurs youngster a booking.

The Ramos response was to bring on Aaron Lennon and Adel Taarabt, with Keane and Malbranque making way.

The third, however, arrived in the 65th minute from Owen, meeting Mark Viduka's flick with a first-time finish after Geremi played the ball into the danger zone.

Martins added gloss to scoreline, with his finish delighting the travelling support.