Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew defended his goal-shy strikers after their Capital One Cup win at Gillingham.
Both Emmanuel Riviere and Siem de Jong drew blanks as former Sunderland defender John Egan put through his own net to settle the tie.
Summer signing De Jong was unable to forge a flowing partnership with Riviere, despite lively showings from Gabriel Obertan and full debutant Rolando Aarons.
"The scoreline didn't really reflect our dominance," said Pardew.
"I've been here many times as a manager. I've played here, and done a lot of scouting here too.
"It's a very, very difficult place to come. And yet we controlled the game more or less all the way through.
"I'm pleased but a bit frustrated we didn't score more than the one.
"They gave up a lot of space in midfield to play that extra centre-half. It was difficult to penetrate their three centre-halves.
"But I can't be too disappointed, I thought our application to the game was great. Our two centre-halves typified that, particularly the skipper.
"Absolute respect we showed Gillingham tonight, and that's how you get wins at places like this."
