Sunday 23 December 2012 19:34, UK
Shola Ameobi's late goal provided Newcastle boss Alan Pardew with a well-timed nudge as he braced himself for a fresh battle to hold on to Demba Ba.
Ameobi's contribution was the only goal in a contest the Magpies dominated, and a rare clean sheet provided the basis for a narrow, but precious win. He said: "Something we felt as a side has been very frustrating is the fact that we haven't really looked like keeping clean sheets, we haven't looked solid, and that was the basis of our success last season. "But you can't underestimate how much a win does for confidence in this game, and that's hopefully going to give us a lot of confidence going into the Christmas games." The Magpies head to leaders Manchester United on Boxing Day having not won a league game at Old Trafford since 1972. Ameobi added: "Hopefully they will eat a lot more than we do and we can nick a result down there."
