Newcastle United moved further away from the relegation zone after beating Southampton in a six-goal thriller at St James' Park this afternoon.
After Morgan Schneiderlin had put the Saints in front, Moussa Sissoko and Papiss Cisse gave the hosts the lead at half time.
Rickie Lambert quickly drew the away side level after the break, but a Yohan Cabaye penalty and a Jos Hooiveld own goal gave the home side the win.
But was it deserved? Sports Mole brings you analysis of the match.
Match statistics:
Newcastle:
Shots 11
On target 5
Possession 57%
Corners 7
Fouls 12
Southampton:
Shots 11
On target 7
Possession 43%
Corners 3
Fouls 12
Was the result fair?
It was. Southampton started the game superbly but once they went in front, they forced Newcastle to attack, which in the end separated the two sides. It was a very competitive game, and was a joy to watch, but as the game went on Newcastle deserved the win more and more.
Newcastle's performance
Despite their slow start, Newcastle actually played pretty well. Once going behind, they dominated the first half and were rightly in front at the break. They scored at key times in the second half to essentially kill off any chance of Saints going back in front.
Southampton's performance
They made a brilliant start to the match with their early goal, but once that had happened, Saints took a back seat and paid for it. They started the second half brightly as well and could have easily gone on to win the match. But they conceded the final two goals at bad times, and ran out of minutes to respond.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Papiss Cisse: While nobody really stood out in a match that was very hotly contested, Cisse deserves this accolade for his goal alone. A definite goal of the season contender, he blazed in a half-volley from 30 yards out off the underside of the crossbar to put his side in front and was a nuisance all afternoon for the Southampton defenders.
Referee performance
Chris Foy had a decent game. He rightly waved away a number of penalty appeals but correctly awarded the Newcastle spot kick. He handed out a few yellow cards as well, and all were pretty justified. Cheick Tiote could consider himself lucky to not have gone into the book.
What next?
Newcastle: The Toon Army travel to Swansea City in their next outing.
Southampton: The Saints have a chance to move away from the bottom three when they host Queens Park Rangers at St Mary's.
Matt Cotton
