Newcastle United recorded their first victory in eight games as they overcame Wigan Athletic in the Premier League earlier this evening.
Demba Ba opened the scoring from the penalty spot on 13 minutes, after Maynor Figueroa had been shown a straight red card for a professional foul on Papiss Cisse.
Ba then doubled his tally with a simple tap-in eight minutes later, before Gael Bigirimana opened his professional goal account to seal the win with a stunning long-range effort midway through the second half.
Below, Sports Mole looks back at the action and determines whether or not the Magpies were good value for their big win.
Match statistics:
Newcastle:
Shots 18
On target 8
Possession 50%
Corners 4
Fouls 13
Wigan:
Shots 10
On target 1
Possession 50%
Corners 4
Fouls 15
Was the result fair?
Newcastle were certainly the better side over 90 minutes, although they were far from convincing and the scoreline was more than a little flattering.
Newcastle's performance
The Magpies looked nervous early on, but they settled down once the penalty put them in front. However, they failed to engage their creative players. Jonas Gutierrez in particular was very disappointing.
Wigan's performance
The Latics looked composed and were impressive during the opening 10 minutes. However, the sending-off changed everything and Roberto Martinez's men failed to pose the opposition any real threat thereafter.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Demba Ba was the difference between the sides. It was his pass that played Cisse in to win the penalty. Ba was also typically clinical in front of goal, finding the net with two of his three shots.
Referee performance
Mike Jones made a big call in sending off Figueroa. The decision may have appeared a little harsh but, by the letter of the law, it was correct. However, Jones showed his soft side 10 minutes before half time, when he failed to issue a second yellow card to Gary Caldwell for a stupid pull on Ba.
Biggest gaffe
Cisse has now scored just four goals in 20 matches and, based on his performance tonight, those figures are very understandable. He had a great chance to make it 4-0 late on, but he failed to check his run and was inexcusably caught two yards offside.
What next?
Newcastle: The Magpies travel to Bordeaux in the Europa League on Thursday night, before returning to domestic action at Fulham a week today.
Wigan: Next up is a home match against relegation rivals Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
Robert Summerscales
