Pardew pleased at hard-fought win

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew was a happy man after seeing his side extend their lead at the top of Europa League Group D with a hard-fought victory over Club Brugge.Gabriel Obertan's 48th-minute strike was enough to establish a three-point gap over second-placed Bordeaux, who could only draw with Maritimo in Madeira on Thursday evening, at the halfway stage.Asked if he would have settled for seven points from a trip to Madeira and home games against Bordeaux and Brugge, Pardew said: "Absolutely. We have got ourselves into a good position tonight. We knew we had a chance of getting seven points, and that really bodes well."The Magpies will now head for Belgium next month - the game could prove a logistical nightmare with the club having been given only 1,470 tickets with thousands more fans having already booked to make the trip - knowing the completion of a double over Georges Leekens' men would all but confirm their place in the last 32.Pardew added: "We have got Maritimo at home, who have had a good result tonight, by the way, that's helped us too. We are going to need to grab something from one of those [away] games, and by the look of that Brugge game tonight, it's going to be difficult. They are a good side."The game was 48 minutes old when Newcastle finally got their noses in front, but when the goal final arrived, it was worth waiting for.Shola Ameobi, a half-time replacement for Vurnon Anita, flicked on to his younger brother Sammy deep inside his own half, and then looked on as the 20-year-old played himself into space with an outrageous piece of skill and surged upfield before laying the ball into the path of Obertan.The Frenchman needed no second invitation and thumped a right-foot shot across keeper Bojan Jorgacevic and inside the far post. Obertan's contribution proved enough to win the game, but the Belgians fought all the way to the whistle for a way back into the game with keeper Steve Harper having to make a fine save to deny Lior Rafaelov.Pardew said: "We have approached this competition in the right manner and we have got our reward for it. We tried to attack the game, but Brugge are a good side. This was a tough game tonight. They have two or three outstanding players, so it's a big win for us, make no mistake."It was nice to see us squeeze past, because that's what we did, really. We just did enough tonight."

Source: PA