Newcastle ended Aston Villa's five game unbeaten away record with debutant Papiss Cisse scoring the winner in a 2-1 success on Tyneside and move up to fifth in the Premier League. Newcastle have won five of their last seven league matches and disposed of Villa after the visitor's looked to be threatening a comeback.
Demba Ba set the Magpies on their way with a close range finish but Villa battled back to deservedly level just before the interval as loanee Robbie Keane with his 150th English league goal converted an easy chance after good work from Charles N'Zogbia.
Newcastle never allowed Villa to build on this goal and debutant Senegal international Cisse justified his £10m valuation by controlling Jonas Gutierrez's cross before half-volleying past former Toon hero Shay Given in the visitor's goal.
For Villa boss Alex McLeish his unwanted record of never having managed a winning team against Newcastle continues as the Midlanders began to look down the table as opposed to upwards.
Referee: Mark Halsey
Venue: Sports Direct Arena
Attendance: 48,569
Newcastle scorers: Ba 29, Cisse 71 Villa scorers: Keane 45
TRIBAL ASKS: Villa boss Alex McLeish still has a lot to do to convince the fans of his suitability for the job.
Yellow cards: Simpson (NEW), Dunne (AV), Bent (AV)
