Newcastle United have recorded a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion to move out of the Premier League relegation zone.
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After their heavy defeat to Everton in midweek, Steve McClaren would have demanded an improved performance from his side and they quickly set about their task in a fast-paced opening at St James' Park.
The first opportunity fell to Andros Townsend, but his 20-yard curling effort was tipped away by Ben Foster before the Baggies stopper displayed sharp reactions to deny Aleksandar Mitrovic, who somehow failed to score from three yards.
Most of Newcastle's play was going through Daryl Janmaat and Jonjo Shelvey, but the home side thought that they had taken the lead through Cheick Tiote just before the half-hour mark, only to see the midfielder's long-range effort ruled out due to Mitrovic obstructing the view of Foster from an offside position.
However, it would take just three minutes for the Magpies to finally open the scoring through Mitrovic, who received a through-ball from Shelvey before calmly slotting past Foster for his fifth Premier League goal of the season.
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Tony Pulis introduced Saido Berahino and Alex Pritchard at half time, but Newcastle continued to dominate after the break and should have had the game sewn up long before the full-time whistle.
After Georginio Wijnaldum headed over from six yards, Townsend struck the post from inside the penalty area after deceiving his marker.
Moussa Sissoko also had an opportunity after linking up with Mitrovic, but he was unable to curl the ball into the far corner after advancing towards goal.
On-loan midfielder Alex Pritchard came closest for Albion in the closing stages, but after his free kick marginally cleared the crossbar, the visitors struggled to create anything in the final third, with Salomon Rondon failing to set up Berahino when in a threatening position in stoppage time.
That allowed Newcastle to comfortably see out the remaining minutes and register a win that sees the club move above Norwich City and into 17th position in the standings.
Darren Plant
