Eddie Howe has acknowledged that Newcastle United produced one of their best 45 minutes all season on their way to beating Aston Villa by a 4-0 scoreline on Saturday afternoon.
The Magpies went into the contest looking to make it 16 points from October's Premier League fixtures, yet that looked in doubt as Villa held the home side for much of the first half.
However, Callum Wilson netted a penalty deep into added-on time, before the forward, Joelinton and Miguel Almiron got in on the act during the second 45 minutes.
The North East giants also hit the woodwork on two occasions as they completely overwhelmed the Villans, who are waiting for the arrival of new head coach Unai Emery next week.
Speaking after the match, Howe praised the level of the performance, picking out Wilson and Almiron for their respective contributions in the final third.
The Englishman told Sky Sports News: "The lads really competed well. It was a bity first half, very stop-start. Thankfully in the second half we were outstanding. That is up there with one of the best performances of the season.
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"I'm really pleased for Callum [Wilson]. Penalties are never easy but he put it away well. He was at the heart of a lot of our good football.
"It was an outstanding finish by Miguel [Almiron]. We hope the Aston Villa keeper is OK. It didn't help the game. Thankfully in the second half we were able to express ourselves better. Tonight I hope fans all enjoy themselves. We're already looking forward to next week."
Villa made the long trip North having beaten Brentford 4-0 last weekend, and caretaker boss Aaron Danks accepted that his side quickly lost any control in proceedings either side of half time.
Talking to BBC Sport, Danks said: "The league is ruthless and can punish you when you are not having good moments. The penalty was right decision. We knew they would have a spell of momentum and they were ruthless. The scoreline looks big and it hurts, but that is what the league can do.
"Newcastle were intelligent in the way they positioned their players. There were little tactical moments that hurt us. You have to find ways of staying in games in those moments. Unfortunately the game went away from us."
Newcastle remain in fourth position in the standings with 24 points from 13 matches, while Villa are in 15th spot, two points above the relegation zone.
Darren Plant
