Tottenham Hotspur have given their European ambitions a huge boost after beating Newcastle United 3-1 in this afternoon's Premier League clash at St James' Park.
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The hosts, looking to avoid a sixth defeat in a row, were quickest off the starting blocks as Remy Cabella charged towards the opposition box before attempting to find a teammate, but the cross was cut out before being cleared.
Spurs countered in the 13th minute with Danny Rose's cross was blocked before Nacer Chadli could connect, but Newcastle hit back moments later through Ayoze Perez, whose connection onto a Yoan Gouffran low ball was saved by Michel Vorm.
The game was light on action in the early stages but soon experienced a spark when Chadli was gifted possession and allowed to make ground, find space and slot a low curling shot past Tim Krul from 25 yards to give Spurs the lead.
It proved to be a one-off moment as the first half saw little more than a few additional half-chances and a number of crunching challenges before the break.
The second half was a different proposition entirely as the Magpies equalised just 18 seconds after the restart, Perez setting up Daryl Janmaat for a shot that was blocked but followed up by Jack Colback to strike into the net.
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Newcastle weren't level for long, however, because in the 53rd minute, Christian Eriksen opted to take a free kick that he had won himself, curling it past the wall and Krul into the far corner of the net.
Spurs could have had a third moments later when Nabil Bentaleb charged into the box to meet a Chadli cross from the left, but the header looped over the bar and onto the roof of the net.
Krul singlehandedly kept his side in the game 66 minutes in when a Paulinho corner was volleyed by Harry Kane from point-blank range, but the Magpies keeper managed to keep the ball out with a reflex save.
Despite Newcastle's best endeavours to stay in the game, Spurs killed it off as a contest when Kane secured his 30th goal of the season by side-footing the ball past Krul following a quick counter-attack.
The result condemns John Carver's 14th-placed charges to their sixth defeat on the trot, while Spurs now find themselves level on points with fifth-placed Liverpool.
Giuseppe Labellarte
