Mired in uncertainty off the pitch, Newcastle maintained their serene progress on it by surviving a trial by long ball at Selhurst Park to move up to second in the Championship.
While an end to the ownership saga engulfing St James' Park may finally be in sight, it has done nothing to enhance Newcastle's hopes of an immediate return to the top flight. Yet, oblivious to the turmoil at boardroom level, the players are showing impressive depths of character.
A trip to Crystal Palace would have been something of a culture shock to Chris Hughton's side. Boxed in to a small corner of south London, bombarded by a series of long balls and harried and hassled by Neil Warnock's functional team, this was their unofficial welcome to the Championship.
Kevin Nolan's goal after 103 seconds acted as the perfect nerve settler, and was a demonstration of Newcastle's determination to stick to their passing principles, even in a division where the long ball is king.
It was created by the impressive Jonas Gutierrez, who has been reassured by Argentina manager Diego Maradona that his place in the national team is secure as long as he continues to perform for Newcastle. On this evidence, he has nothing to worry about.
After creating Nolan's goal with a delightful chipped pass that split the Palace defence, he laid on the second, too, with a neat pass to Ryan Taylor, who curled his shot into the top corner from the edge of the area.
"With the manager they have, and the style of play they adopt, we knew it would be a tough day," Newcastle caretaker manager Chris Hughton said. "We knew we would have to play well in every department, and I felt we were worthy winners."
Palace manager Warnock was pleased with his side's response to going two goals down, but admitted: "The two goals we conceded were a disgrace, but that's how it is: you get punished by good players and they took their goals well," he said. "We never gave ourselves a chance."
EAGLES v MAGPIES 2009/2010 Wed 27 Jan Newcastle Utd. 2 - 0 Crystal Palace Championship Sat 22 Aug Crystal Palace 0 - 2 Newcastle Utd. Championship 2004/2005 Sat 30 Apr Newcastle Utd. 0 - 0 Crystal Palace Premiership Sat 20 Nov Crystal Palace 0 - 2 Newcastle Utd. Premiership 2001/2002 Sat 05 Jan Newcastle Utd. 2 - 0 Crystal Palace F.A. Cup 1998/1999 Sat 02 Jan Newcastle Utd. 2 - 1 Crystal Palace F.A. Cup 1997/1998 Wed 18 Mar Newcastle Utd. 1 - 2 Crystal Palace Premiership Sat 29 Nov Crystal Palace 1 - 2 Newcastle Utd. Premiership 1994/1995 Sun 14 May Newcastle Utd. 3 - 2 Crystal Palace Premiership Sat 15 Oct Crystal Palace 0 - 1 Newcastle Utd. Premiership 1987/1988 Sat 09 Jan Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Crystal Palace F.A. Cup 1983/1984 Sat 21 Jan Crystal Palace 3 - 1 Newcastle Utd. Second Division Sat 17 Sep Newcastle Utd. 3 - 1 Crystal Palace Second Division 1982/1983 Sat 05 Mar Crystal Palace 0 - 2 Newcastle Utd. Second Division Sat 23 Oct Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Crystal Palace Second Division 1981/1982 Sat 15 May Crystal Palace 1 - 2 Newcastle Utd. Second Division Wed 31 Mar Newcastle Utd. 0 - 0 Crystal Palace Second Division 1978/1979 Sat 07 Apr Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Crystal Palace Second Division Sat 02 Dec Crystal Palace 1 - 0 Newcastle Utd. Second Division 1972/1973 Sat 20 Jan Newcastle Utd. 2 - 0 Crystal Palace First Division Sat 02 Sep Crystal Palace 2 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division 1971/1972 Sat 16 Oct Newcastle Utd. 1 - 2 Crystal Palace First Division Sat 14 Aug Crystal Palace 2 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division 1970/1971 Sat 19 Dec Newcastle Utd. 2 - 0 Crystal Palace First Division Sat 22 Aug Crystal Palace 1 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division 1969/1970 Sat 31 Jan Newcastle Utd. 0 - 0 Crystal Palace First Division Sat 04 Oct Crystal Palace 0 - 3 Newcastle Utd. First Division 1964/1965 Sat 17 Apr Crystal Palace 1 - 1 Newcastle Utd. Second Division Sat 24 Oct Newcastle Utd. 2 - 0 Crystal Palace Second Division
Source: Newcastle United Mad
Source: FOOTYMAD
