Newcastle United kept themselves within touching distance of the Champions League places by thrashing nine-man Stoke City 5-1 at St James' Park this afternoon.
The dismissals of Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson within the space of four minutes towards the end of the first half changed the direction of the match, after Oussama Assaidi had fired the Potters into a 29th-minute lead.
From that moment on, there were two red cards, two penalties, a manager sent to the stands and four different Newcastle goalscorers as the Magpies came from behind to cruise to their sixth win in their last eight Premier League games and remain within two points of the top-four positions.
Below, Sports Mole analyses whether the result was reflective of the action on Tyneside.
Match statistics:
Newcastle:
Shots: 27
On target: 8
Possession: 58%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 10
Stoke:
Shots: 11
On target: 3
Possession: 42%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 8
Was the result fair?
Who knows what would have happened had it not been for Stoke's five minutes of madness, or if a few debatable refereeing decisions had gone in their favour, but the Potters have only themselves to blame for getting into a position from where it was impossible to win the game. From the moment that they went down to nine men, it was very easy for Newcastle, who were clinical and made the most of their numerical advantage with a convincing margin of victory.
Newcastle's performance:
They didn't quite have their shape right in the first half, with Loic Remy certainly short of support in attack. Mathieu Debuchy allowed Assaidi to cut inside for Stoke's opener and the Liverpool loanee seemed to have the full-back's number before his half-time withdrawal. After the interval, with the help of a two-goal advantage, Newcastle were naturally dominant and then pretty clinical in front of the net. Hatem Ben Arfa was certainly in the mood, while Yohan Cabaye's goal was taken superbly. Strikes for Remy, previously without one in five, and Papiss Cisse, whose Premier League drought stood at 19 games prior to kickoff, will be morale boosting ahead of some tough upcoming fixtures.
Stoke's performance:
The visitors were excellent in the opening half an hour and deservedly took the lead, only for them to go on and commit footballing suicide with some shocking lack of discipline. For Whelan to be naive enough to get two bookings for kicking the ball away and a needless hack on Cabaye, all in the space of six minutes, was awful and immediately put his side, previously in command, in trouble. Wilson was slightly more unfortunate, but he was easily turned by Remy on the edge of the box and can have no complaints about being given his marching orders. Newcastle's second three minutes after the break ended the match as a contest, and although their attempt at a containing job was admirable, more silly mistakes contributed to Stoke's downfall and in the end, they could have lost by more.
Sports Mole's man of the match:
Hatem Ben Arfa: Playing against nine men was the perfect opportunity for the silky Frenchman to recapture his va va voom, and he certainly did that in the second half by terrorising the Stoke defence. It is so refreshing to see a player run at his opponent and although the gaps in the visiting back line were somewhat obvious, he found them at every opportunity. Perhaps a little guilty of selfishness on the odd occasion, but Ben Arfa was after the goal that his performance deserved after rattling the woodwork twice.
Biggest gaffe:
For somebody of Whelan's experience to be sent off in the manner that he was is unforgivable. Mark Hughes may place the blame on referee Martin Atkinson for the first of his side's red cards, but he should look closer to home. Immature decision-making, and unwise tackles from the Irish midfielder, whose petulance started Stoke down their slippery slope.
Referee's performance:
There were so many incidents that involved contentious decisions by referee Atkinson, but I am going to be as concise as possible when discussing the performance of him and the rest of the officials: Whelan and Wilson sending offs – correct. Missed handball in buildup to Remy's equaliser. Assistant missed Ben Arfa running the ball out of play prior to Newcastle's second. The Magpies could have had two second-half penalties for fouls by Ryan Shawcross. Atkinson got a few things wrong, but the game-changing calls he made in terms of the red cards were accurate, as much as Hughes will dispute them.
What next?
Newcastle: Arsenal could be top of the table when they visit St James' Park on Sunday.
Stoke: They travel to Tim Sherwood's Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend but will be without both Whelan and Wilson, whose red cards today will see them suspended for the trip to White Hart Lane.
Joe Fish
