Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew felt his back half did the job to deny Tottenham a goal at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
The Toon managed to hold off a second-half onslaught from Spurs to win 1-0 on the road thanks to Loic Remy's 13th minute goal - his seventh in seven - but it was the defensive efforts of goalkeeper Tim Krul and centre-backs Mike Williamson and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa which really caught the eye of Pardew.
"I thought first half, for an away team, we were the better team. Second half they changed it a little bit, stretched the pitch and caused us no end of problems," he told Sky Sports.
"We had to really defend with our lives in the second half. That's what makes football great, that you can do that.
"Our goalie was terrific, our centre-halves were terrific. They were the stars today."
