Newcastle bounce back from cup defeat in emphatic fashion

I can't hear you: Ba celebrates his opener against Stoke

It still hasn't happened. I've still not had to write about a Newcastle loss, and obviously, just like any Newcastle fan, I don't want to.

Ok, so technically Newcastle have suffered one defeat, a 4-3 Carling Cup extra time thriller at Blackburn Rovers last Wednesday. Gael Givet finally giving Rovers the win after injury time strikes from Danny Guthrie and Yohan Cabaye had sent the game to extra time.

That result has been Newcastle's only disappointment so far this season, and they maintained their unbeaten run in the league with arguably their best result of the campaign on Monday night, as Alan Pardew's side comfortably dispatched Stoke City by three goals to one to move up to 3rd in the Barclays Premier League table.

This was undoubtedly one of the finest Newcastle United away performances in recent memory, and
like many of Newcastle's successes this season, this was a result born out of the side's defensive strength. The Magpies hold the best defensive record in the league, and they proceeded to show why as they blunted Stoke's much famed aerial attack with dogged, determined defending from their back five.

Any threat Stoke may have offered in open play was also neutralised by Newcastle's energetic and persistent midfield, who closed down at every opportunity, effectively cutting off the supply line to forwards Jonathan Walters and Peter Crouch.

Newcastle's defensive task was made considerably easier inside 12 minutes when Demba Ba nodded an acrobatic header into the top corner of the net after Gabriel Obertan had latched onto a Leon Best flick on to deliver a perfectly placed delivery into the box for Ba to give the visitors the lead.

The often raucous Britannia Stadium crowd were silenced by this early strike, and this enabled Pardew's charges to take a firm grip on proceedings as they continued in the ascendancy, Ba twice denied by an onrushing and alert Asmir Begovic following two excellent through balls from Cabaye and Guthrie respectively.

Senegalese international Ba did eventually grab a deserved second goal five minutes before the break, strike partner Leon Best again involved -  the former Coventry striker demonstrating superb technique to control a deep left footed cross from Fabricio Coloccini and fire a volley across goal - providing Ba with the simple task of prodding into an empty net with Begovic stranded at his near post.

The inevitable Second Half fightback game as the Potters bombarded Newcastle's box from set pieces and a string of predictably well delivered long throws from Rory Delap.

The visitors rearguard stood firm until the 75th minute when Stoke were awarded a dubious penalty after Ba was adjudged to have bundled over Crouch during one of many 2nd half goal line scrambles. Walters smashed home the resulting spot kick to give the home fans hope. It was hope that soon evaporated however,   as Referee Mike Dean awarded Newcastle a chance to seal all 3 points when he ruled that Robert Huth had fouled Best inside the six yard box.

Ba duly stepped up to fire in from 12 yards, capping off a wonderful hat-rick and extending Newcastle's unbeaten Premier League sequence to 13 games, their longest such run in the top flight for 61 years.

The result represented a complete turnaround from the heavy 4-0 defeat the Geordies suffered at the Britannia in the corresponding fixture last season, and although stats suggest otherwise, this was indeed a dominant and confident display from Newcastle, and one which re-affirmed the togetherness within the side, considering that it was achieved in the absence of key midfielder Cheick Tiote.

It truly was a night where everything went to plan for those in Black and White; Pardew's ploy of using Obertan to combat an uncompromising but sluggish Stoke backline worked to perfection; and the excellent defensive record was conserved with a committed team display. A special mention should go to the efforts of winger Jonas Gutierrez however, the Argentinian was exceptional and tracked back at every opportunity as he helped stonewall any hope Stoke had of penetrating Newcastle's left side.

Stoke are often a team that frustrates and infiltrates the mind of opposition sides, on Monday night everything Newcastle did - from Demba Ba scoring a hat-rick against the club he almost signed for, to Danny Simpson using Rory Delap's trick of drying the ball before throw-ins - frustrated and angered Stoke's supporters and players. Simply put it was a night where Newcastle out-Stoked Stoke.