Swansea City piled more misery on Newcastle United this afternoon by running out 3-2 winners at St James' Park.
Defeat means that the Magpies have now suffered seven losses on the bounce - their worst run of form ever in the Premier League.
John Carver's team did in fact take the lead via an Ayoze Perez tap in before Nelson Oliveira levelled proceedings on the stroke of half time.
Goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jack Cork made the game safe for the visitors, though Siem De Jong did add a late consolation on his return to the team from injury.
Below, Sports Mole takes a look at how the game panned out.
Match statistics
NEWCASTLE
Shots: 12
On target: 4
Possession: 48%
Corners: 9
Fouls: 14
SWANSEA
Shots: 11
On target: 6
Possession: 52%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 9
Was the result fair?
Despite falling behind during the first half, Swansea did deserve to win this one. Based on their second-half performance in particular, when they were much the better side, Garry Monk can be extremely pleased with another solid afternoon's work. The home support have clearly had enough of this season, and the discontent within their ranks was very evident. It clearly hampered the players, who appeared as if they wanted to game to finish there and then once Cork scored Swansea's third.
Newcastle's performance
They actually started brightly, with Vurnon Anita and Emmanuel Riviere looking lively down the left. When they opened the scoring, it was well deserved, even if they had had a helping hand from Jordi Amat. Before Swansea equalised, Riviere himself forced an excellent save from Lukasz Fabianski, but, once the visitors had scored, the home side simply gave up. The second half was littered with a combination of feeble attacking play and woeful defending. The only bright spark can be the return from injury and subsequent goal from De Jong.
Swansea's performance
The difference today was that Swansea had a number of players who looked capable of making a difference, whereas Newcastle only really had Perez. Monk's men were undeniably under the cosh during the early part of the match, but once they got level they were always in control. They looked as if they simply wanted it more than their opponents; the difference being that this is a team that plays for its manager. Newcastle under Carver clearly do not do that.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Nelson Oliviera:
A toss up between the striker and Sigurdsson, Oliviera gets the nod on the basis that this is probably his best performance in a Swansea shirt to date. Having finally opened his account with a powerful stoppage-time header in the first half, he played a key role in setting up the other two goals. For the second goal, a clever stepover allowed Sigurdsson to drift into space, while the third goal involved excellent hold-up play to feed Cork. An encouraging display for a team that badly lacks a capable striker at present.
Biggest gaffe
Although it did not end up costing Swansea the game, Amat's error to allow Perez to open the scoring was the poorest mistake of the afternoon. Riviere played an excellent ball into a dangerous area. Fabianski came to claim it, but instead Amat nipped in and diverted the ball straight to the Newcastle forward. All Perez had to do was roll the ball into the net.
Referee performance
Neil Swarbrick barely had a decision to make, brandishing his yellow card just twice all afternoon. This was just the type of game that you would want to be the referee of, with minimal fuss and no controversy whatsoever.
What next?
Newcastle:
Good question. Carver's side are in real danger of being sucked into the relegation battle, with a five-point buffer to Sunderland in 18th. A win away at Leicester City in their next game would surely secure their safety, but who would back them to take points off of the Foxes at present?
Swansea:
Before games with Arsenal and Manchester City, the Swans host Stoke City. A win in that game should ensure that they finish in eighth position - an excellent achievement in Monk's first full season in charge.
Joe McPhee
