Newcastle 3 Stoke City 0PAPISS CISSÉ continues to prove he is capable of joining the select group of No9s who possess legendary status in the eyes of the Newcastle supporters. The Senegalese was involved in his side's opening goal before scoring for the sixth game in succession, a feat beyond any other Premier League striker this season.
Cissé has achieved it only 10 games into a Newcastle career. He has scored 11 times already since joining United. Coming at the end of a week when he paid a surprise visit to a young fan in Bedlington and queued for a £6 haircut in a Gateshead barber’s shop, Cissé is developing into a Geordie icon to be ranked alongside Malcolm Macdonald and Kevin Keegan.
If Cissé had not had his hair shaved he might even have scored in the 14th minute when he headed Hatem Ben Arfa’s cross against the bar after the winger embarrassed Marc Wilson with his control. No matter, because Yohan Cabaye, another major influence in midfield, reacted quicker than a ponderous Stoke defence to head in from close range.
Cissé’s inevitable goal was not long delayed, though. Only four minutes later, Cabaye threaded the ball through to the striker, who beat Asmir Begovic with the confidence expected of a player in such a rich vein of form. Cabaye was to add another goal in the second half to emerge as the most influential player in another impressive Newcastle performance. “The one Cabaye made was better than the two he scored. How he saw that pass I don’t know. It was exquisite, one of the passes of the season,” Alan Pardew purred.
It was a decisive goal in a win that encouraged further talk from the manager of a future in Europe.
“The Champions League is still a possibility and we are not hiding from that . . . ,” Pardew said. “We haven’t lost sight of the fact that there’s a chance to do something really special.
“Quality was the key today. We had our normal work ethic, but a lot of quality from Cabaye, Cissé, Ba and Ben Arfa. They were a problem for Stoke.
With the match effectively settled after 18 minutes, the focus switched to Ba, whose goals have dried up after he scored 15 in the first half of the season. An overdue goal for him would have made it a perfect day for Newcastle, after the stalemate between Chelsea and Arsenal, and Spurs’ defeat. Ba did have two efforts saved by Begovic, while Cissé had a goal disallowed before Cabaye curled in his second goal from the edge of the area in the 57th minute.
Cheik Tioté’s powerful midfield performance would also have been rewarded with a goal if Begovic had not made two fine saves from him in the closing stages.
United have now gone 398 minutes since conceding a goal – a record Stoke never threatened. Tony Pulis, the manager who led Stoke into the Europa League last season, said: “Newcastle have lots of momentum. They have goals in them and can be very confident and assured for the last few games because they will score goals.”
Guardian Service
