Fabricio Coloccini hails Newcastle United spirit in Chelsea victory

Newcastle United defender Fabricio Coloccini has hailed his side's spirit as the driving force behind their 2-1 victory over Chelsea at St James' Park on Saturday.

The Magpies broke the Blues' 21-match unbeaten record in all competitions this season as Papiss Cisse scored a second-half brace to fire them to the three points, despite a late strike from Didier Drogba.

Coloccini told the club's official website: "It was a great result. It was difficult for us to really play at our best because Chelsea are such a good team and had a lot of the ball.

"But we defended really well, we had good shape, good spirit and every player helped each other. That made the difference.

"A team like Chelsea make it difficult because they have so much possession, and then when we have the ball we look tired because we have been pressing them so hard. But we had the opportunities to score and took them, and that is fantastic for us and for the fans."

The win took Newcastle up to seventh in the Premier League table, two points off the Champions League places.