Uncharacteristically soft goals allowed by Tim Krul in each half and a gorgeous strike from Nacer Chadli condemned Newcastle to its fourth-straight home defeat as Tottenham Hotspur eased into and out of a 4-0 win at St. James Park on Wednesday afternoon.
Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice and Paulinho added another as Spurs can now see their path to the top of the Premier League table. Chadli’s goal came very late, as Tottenham pulled with seven points of first place Chelsea.
Newcastle opened with a strike force featuring plenty of questions. Could Papiss Cisse find his form alongside an on-loan Luuk de Jong, who hasn’t played much for anyone this year?
The fifth minute saw the game’s first chance, as Paulinho worked down the right side and around Newcastle’s Davide Santon. He cut towards goal before feeding Adebayor, whose low curling shot went wide of the goal.
Spurs controlled possession for a while after that, with an in-tight Paulinho chance forcing Tim Krul to punch out for a corner kick.
Newcastle won a free kick and then a corner in the 12th minute. The Magpies are still sorting out their set plays with Yohan Cabaye off to PSG, but can be encouraged by Santon’s effort that pinged around the box before Spurs cleared.
The visitors struck in the 19th minute, as Nabil Bentaleb shook off Moussa Sissoko before trying a shot on Krul from the left. The keeper should’ve controlled it but instead pushed it into the path of Adebayor, who tapped home the rebound to make it 1-0.
Sammy Ameobi tried to counter immediately, leading to a throw-in. In fact, Ameobi was Newcastle’s threat for most of the half, providing prime opportunities for Yoan Gouffran and Cisse… both missed.
The hosts’ best chance came late, when De Jong laid off a nice ball for Sissoko that the midfielder sent screaming over the frame from just outside the 18. Though the match had its Magpie moments, Spurs unquestionably deserved the lead.
Tottenham doubled its lead in the 53rd minute. Paulinho made a deft backheel touch to Adebayor, whose low shot wasn’t dangerous but Krul couldn’t control off his dive. Mike Williamson stood and watched as Paulinho followed the shot to goal to tap in the loose ball, making it 2-0.
The introduction of Geordie boy Paul Dummett at half injected some life into the match and he lashed wide from the left just before the clock struck 70.
Hatem Ben Arfa also featured, sending a ball in that the Magpies headed over in the 74th minute as Newcastle poured forward.
Krul had been fantastic in the first meeting, but the big saves in this one came courtesy of Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris, who made several nice stops in the final third.
Adebayor limped off after tucking another rebound home to condemn Newcastle to its third straight 3-0 defeat. They’ve appeared a shell of a club since Cabaye’s departure, and one of the Premier League’s rowdiest venue was quiet as a mouse.
Chadli’s first Premier League was an absolute stunner. Staring at goal from outside the edge of the 18, Chadli tore off a curling shot into the top right corner.
LINEUPS
Newcastle: Krul; Debuchy, Williamson, S.Taylor, Santon (Dummett, 46); Gouffran, Sissoko (c), Anita, Sammy Ameobi (Marveaux 71); de Jong (Ben Arfa, 63), Cisse.
Tottenham: Lloris; Walker, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Naughton; Dembele (Townsend 64), Bentaleb, Capoue, Paulinho, Lennon (Chadli, 75); Adebayor (Soldado, 84).
Goals: Adebayor (19, 82), Paulinho (53), Chadli (88)
