Rovers down battling Toon

Christopher Samba and Roque Santa Cruz goals give Blackburn 2-1 win over struggling Newcastle at St James' Park.

Second half Owen penalty not enough for Newcastle

Blackburn secured their third successive win after two first half goals sealed a 2-1 win against struggling Newcastle at St James' Park on Saturday. The defeat for Newcastle leaves them with no points from their last four games and a win for Tottenham on Sunday could send them bottom of the table. Rovers were the strongest in the first half and were rewarded after 31 minutes when Carlos Villanueva's free kick found Samba who powered a header past Shay Given. Their lead was doubled ten minutes later when Santa Cruz latched onto Brett Emerton's cross, rising above Fabricio Coloccini to head it home. Newcastle were denied a penalty just minutes after the restart, referee Steve Tanner claiming Martin Olsson's touch was not handball. But in the 51st minute Michael Owen was brought down just inside the box by Ryan Nelsen and the striker duly stepped up to send the penalty straight down the middle of Jason Brown's goal. Newcastle threw everything into attack in the closing stages, but Blackburn held on to pile the misery on the Magpies.

Woeful

After a woeful first-half display which saw Rovers take a 2-0 lead through Samba and Santa Cruz, the Magpies staged a fightback which suggested their spirits have not been completely crushed. Skipper Owen converted a 48th-minute penalty for his fourth goal in six games after he had been tripped by Nelsen, and the home side made a genuine attempt to repair the remaining damage. In the end, they were unable to snatch the point which might have partially eased their woes. But a crowd of 44,935 - around 7,000 down on capacity - left at least able to take some comfort from a committed end to what at one point looked like another black afternoon on Tyneside. That said, Newcastle remain deep in trouble with no permanent manager and an owner who cannot get rid of the club quickly enough, and things could well get worse before they get better. Blackburn boss Paul Ince, who was at one point the favourite to succeed Kevin Keegan, headed for the north-west having seen his side make the most of a big opportunity at St James', and their resilience at the death will have been as pleasing as their prowess at the other end. Caretaker boss Chris Hughton's hands have been tied by injuries and suspensions, but the patchwork side he fielded this afternoon simply did not look up to the task in the opening 45 minutes. Fragility at the back, indiscipline in midfield and a lack of any cutting edge in attack, where Owen and summer signing Xisco made little or no impression, meant the Magpies hopes looked forlorn from the off. And with Villanueva orchestrating from the middle of the park for Rovers and Santa Cruz too hot for a traumatised defence to handle, the omens were not good.

Comprehensive

The visitors would have been ahead with just nine minutes gone had Given not kept out Matt Derbyshire's shot after he had escaped from emergency right-back Steven Taylor. But the opening goal arrived with 31 minutes gone when Samba ran on to Villanueva's free-kick unchallenged to head firmly past the Irishman. Newcastle, however, did not learn their lesson, and when Emerton curled a similarly inviting cross into the box 10 minutes later, Santa Cruz supplied an equally comprehensive finish to put his side in complete control. Kinnear had planned to pass on his thoughts at the break, and if he did, whatever he said seemed to have an effect. The Magpies were appealing in vain for a 48th-minute penalty after Martin Olsson appeared to handle Damien Duff's cross under pressure from Geremi. Referee Steve Tanner was unmoved on that occasion, but he did point to the spot a minute later after Rovers skipper Nelsen had clipped Owen's heels. The England international picked himself up to dispatch the penalty past keeper Brown and remarkably, his side might have been level within three minutes had Geremi volleyed Duff's cross towards goal rather than miscontrolled it. Geremi tested Brown with a well-struck 25-yard effort as Newcastle finally started to believe, although Rovers gradually began to work their way back into the game and themselves had appeals for a penalty waved away for Claudio Cacapa's 61st-minute challenge on Santa Cruz. Newcastle were growing in confidence as the game wore on, but clear-cut chances were few and far between and Brown had no real scares as time ran down.

Newcastle United	Team Statistics	Blackburn Rovers
1	Goals	2
0	1st Half Goals	2
2	Shots on Target	6
2	Shots off Target	1
0	Blocked Shots	3
5	Corners	5
8	Fouls	21
2	Offsides	0
0	Yellow Cards	4
0	Red Cards	0
70.1	Passing Success	72.7
22	Tackles	28
72.7	Tackles Success	71.4
49.2	Possession	50.7
51.5	Territorial Advantage	48.5