Final whistle. It's Newcastle 1-2 Everton, and David Moyes' side perhaps just edged it overall. Everton found themselves behind after just 102 seconds, but showed the right mix of guile, physicality and creativity for the majority of the rest of the game, with Baines' free kick worthy of winning any match. Newcastle battled hard, but, shorn of Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa, as well as the departing Demba Ba, did not have the requisite quality to open up a well-drilled Everton backline frequently enough. Thanks for reading!
90' +6
Anichebe does well to draw a foul after having held up the ball on the left wing. Anita hangs out a lazy leg, gives away the free kick, and that looks to be it at St James'.
90' +4
The visitors are playing down the clock excellently, keep possession well in midfield before breaking into the box to look to wrap things up. Leighton Baines' cross trickles behind Victor Anichebe, though, and into safety.
90' +2
The hosts are piling on the pressure but cannot open up a ever-more deep Everton defence, despite the presence of four strikers on the field. It's looks as though Everton will leave with the points here.
90'
The Toon faithful roar with hope as a minimum of six minutes of added time are announced over the tannoy. Will there be one final chance for Pardew's men?
88'
B. Oviedo enters the game and replaces N. Jelavić.
David Moyes responds by switching Nikica Jelavic for Bryan Oviedo for the final minutes of the game.
87'
N. Ranger enters the game and replaces J. Perch.
Final throw of the dice from Alan Pardew, as he sends on the behaviourally challenged 21-year-old Nile Ranger for James Perch. Things are getting desperate.
83'
Davide Santon should have levelled for the home side. Receiving the ball from Papiss Cisse, the Italian drove into the box, opened up his body, but could only direct his effort at the feet of the onrushing Tim Howard with teammates free in the centre. From the resulting corner, Sylvain Marveaux's well-hit strike is blocked and cleared.
82'
Phil Neville's down after a clash of heads with his own teammate, Victor Anichebe, in the Everton penalty box. Unsurprisingly, it's Neville who comes out of the collision the worst, with blood gushing from his forehead and requiring a quick change of his bloodstained shirt.
80'
S. Pienaar gets yellow.
S. Ameobi enters the game and replaces C. Tioté.
Pardew shuffles his pack again, sending on Sammy Ameobi for Cheick Tiote.
Minute
Description
78'
Baines takes the free kick well, curling it up and over the wall, but the ball floats just wide of Tim Krul's left hand post.
76'
Marouane Fellaini breaks forward with the ball at his feet, and shuffles his way to the edge of the six yard box before being felled by Bigirimana. The home crowd roar their disapproval, but it's another chance for Leighton Baines to hit one at goal.
73'
It's an Everton corner, and Cheikh Tiote and Victor Anichebe are having a shoving match in the six-yard box. It's all a bit playground stuff and Krul eventually springs to collect a tame delivery from Baines.
69'
Following an Everton corner, Newcastle clear the ball and break forward, and Vernon Anita's floated cross from the right is headed goalwards by the arriving Papiss Cisse. Johnny Heitinga, though, flies into his own six yard box just in time to block the effort and divert it away from goal.
68'
C. Tioté gets yellow.
Cheick Tiote picks up his customary booking for a foul on Jagielka, having given the ball away seconds previously.
66'
G. Bigirimana enters the game and replaces G. Obertan.
Obertan, who's been a thorn in Everton's side all night, works his way into the box and his powerful effort is beaten away by Howard at his near post. The Frenchman is immediately called off the pitch by his boss, to be replaced by Gael Bigirimana.
63'
Everton are not letting up, continuing their pressure on the Newcastle goal to win a corner which Anita nods clear at the near post. Alan Pardew will be looking to switch things up if something doesn't go their way soon.
60'
V. Anichebe has scored a goal for Everton! Assist by N. Jelavić.
GOAL!! It's 2-1 to Everton, and the Nigerian has scored with what could well be his first touch. Fabricio Coloccini will be disappointed with how easily he was beaten by Nikica Jelavic, who had drifted out to the left flank. The Croatian dropoped a shoulder to slip past his marker, and his low, left-footed cross was tapped home by Anichebe from six yards out. Everton lead.
58'
V. Anichebe enters the game and replaces S. Naismith.
David Moyes makes the game's first change, swapping Steven Naismith - quiet tonight - for Victor Anichebe.
56'
Sylvain Marveux, who has begun the second half with impressive gusto, scoots into the Everton box buth his pull-back finds a blue shirt as opposed to a black and white one. Shortly afterwards, Ameobi brings a lofted ball down well but prods his shot agonisingly wide.
53'
M. Williamson gets yellow.
Mike Williamson becomes the third player to find himself in Martin Atkinson's book, cautioned for a cynical foul on Nikica Jelavic.
52'
Cisse gives away a free kick as the ball comes in, having impeded the path of Tim Howard.
51'
A scrappy passage of midfield play ends with the ball breaking to Marveux on the right flank, whose cross is cleared away for a corner.
48'
Sylvain Marveaux launches the resulting free kick directly into the Everton wall. Leighton Baines, one imagines, looks on smugly.
47'
J. Heitinga gets yellow.
Johnny Heitinga earns himself a booking after some strong running from Shola Ameobi was concluded with the Netherlands international bringing him down on the edge of the box.
46'
...And we're back underway at St James'. Coloccini wins an early free kick after being fouled by Jelavic, who was perhaps not as involved as he'd like to have been in the first half.
45' +1
Half time. Despite scoring just after the minute mark - and having a late penalty appeal waved away - the hosts finished that half on the back foot, as Everton's sustained pressure finally paid off with Leighton Baines' stunning goal. It's been a fine half of attacking football from both sides, and, although it could be more, one goal apiece is probably just about fair.
43'
L. Baines has scored a goal for Everton!
WHAT. A. GOAL. It's 1-1, and it's Leighton Baines for Everton. A foul on Marouane Fellaini brought the away side a free kick on the inside right channel, around 30 yards out, which, despite the distance, Baines began measuring up. The left back waited patiently for Martin Atkinson's whistle, then strode up and absolutely hammered the ball with his laces at the opposite corner of the goal. The ball, swinging from away from the goalkeeper, fizzes past the helplessly sprawling Tim Krul and into the back of the net. Phenomenal strike, and a deserved equaliser for Everton.
41'
P. Cissé gets yellow.
Papiss Cisse, visibly frustrated at the denial of a penalty for his side, picks up a caution after a clumsy, needless challenge on Baines.
40'
Howls of disapproval from the home fans, as Martin Atkinson decides against awarding a penalty after Ameobi goes down under a heavy Phil Neville challenge. Replays show that it looks to be the right call though, as Neville just got a toe to the ball.
38'
Papiss Cisse breaks down the right flank before cutting in and engineering some room on the edge of the box. His attempted lofted ball in to Gabriel Obertan, though, is sliced out for a throw-in.
35'
Anita, in the thick of the action so far, arrives at the far post as Davide Santon whips in a cross from the left wing, but Leighton Baines does just enough to prevent the Netherland international from making contact with the ball. Good defending.
32'
Another chance! This time it's at the other end of the field, as Steven Pienaar finds himself in on goal - though under no small amount of pressure from a covering defender - after some fine one-touch link-up play with Baines. Krul is off his line smartly to narrow the angle, and the South African's shot comes back off the keeper's legs.
29'
Chance! The hosts managed to keep the ball well for the first time since scoring, with Marveaux and Obertan combing before the latter wins a free kick on the left flank. James Perch nods Vernon Anita's terrific inswinging delivery onto the inside of Tim Howard's post, and watches the ball rebound to safety.
27'
Everton are totally reinvigorated now. Osman, Pienaar and Fellaini are starting to run the show in the centre of the field, while Baines is also seeing plenty of the ball. There's an equaliser on the cards if the visitors keep turning the screw as they are.
24'
And David Moyes's men could - probably should - be level. Some tidy link-up play between Fellaini and Pienaar along the left flank allows the Belgian through on goal, eight yards out, but he takes a split second too long and allows Coloccini to get across and block his shot. He didn't have long at all, to be fair.
22'
Everton's first real spell of sustained posssession comes to an end when a heavy touch from Leighton Baines allow Ameobi to snap in and dispossess the left back. Better, though, from the away side, who are slowly growing into the game.
19'
Newcastle are dealing with Marouane Fellaini excellently so far. Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Williamson have beaten him to headers, Tim Krul has clattered him under a cross, and Cheikh Tiote is nudging and nipping at him constantly in an attempt to be the Belgian's next victim. Ruthless but impressive.
17'
Gung-ho stuff from Phil Jagielka, as the makeshift right back, sprinting into the Newcastle box, is picked out superbly by Pienaar, but the England man's volleyed cross is too long for any of his teammates and sails out for a throw-in.
15'
Fellaini, unsurprisingly, has begun the game very high up the pitch, and always making himself available as the focal point for his team's attacks. Steven Pienaar is the latest to attempt to pick out the Belgian, but his left wing cross is underhit.
13'
The high-tempo start has cooled off somewhat, with both sides' midfields able to get their foot on the ball. The leggy Obertan bursts forwards again for Newcastle, but Leighton Baines does well to hold him up and nudge the ball out for a throw-in. The Frenchman is enjoying a lively opening, and is causing Everton problems with his direct running.
10'
Fellaini and Collocini embark on the first of what you'd expect to be a fair few grapples in the home side penalty box, but the referee blows up for a foul against the Belgian. Obertan break down the other end and again threatens with his pace, but is unable to feed Cisse in the penalty box.
7'
The visitors respond with some pressure of their own. Krul is called into action, first tipping a lovely Leighton Baines free kick round the post, before smothering from the resulting corner. Lively start.
4'
Incredible intensity from the start from Newcastle, and Cisse nearly makes it two. Ameobi slides a low cross in from the left flank, but it's just too far ahead of the Senegal forward.
2'
P. Cissé has scored a goal for Newcastle United! Assist by T. Krul.
GOAL!!! Newcastle 1-0 Everton. What a start for the home side, and it's Papiss Cisse with the goal after only 102 seconds of play. It's route one stuff, as Everton let a long kick from Tim Krul bounce all the way through to the Senegalese striker, who nods the ball over Tim Howard and into the net. 1-0.
1'
We're underway at St James' Park with Mathieu Debuchy an interested spectator. Much of the £7 million to be received for Demba Ba will be reinvested on the France international it seems. Tiote immediately knocks it long to Cisse, who wins the knockdown but Howard is off his line smartly to collect.
Evening all, and welcome to Goal.com's live play-by-play coverage of Newcastle vs Everton from St James' Park. The team news from both sides is in, and will follow shortly....
The major news in the run-up to this game is, of course, the imminent transfer of Demba Ba to Chelsea, which was finally concretised today. "It's done, he'll go to Chelsea and with our blessing. He's been fantastic for us," is what Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has to say on the matter. Most relevantly for this fixture, though, Ba's absence sees Shola Ameobi granted a starting berth up front, while Papiss Cisse stays on the right flank. Likely to return to the middle in the long-term, though, Cisse will be looking to start replicating his fine form in the latter half of last season, as opposed to his rather more tepid displays during the opening half of this.
For the visitors, the main news is their welcoming back of Marouane Fellaini into the starting line-up after his recent suspension. Everton have undoubtedly missed the big Belgian over the last three games - any side would - and he will certainly give the Newcastle defence a tough test from set pieces and open play alike.
The teams are out, handshakes are done, and we're waiting for kick off at St James' Park.
That was a wonderfully entertaining first half, with both sides looking to attack with a healthy blend of directness and technique. The visitors certainly earned their leveller, with the Everton midfield probably enjoying more of the ball throughout the half and the likes of Pienaar and Fellaini a constant threat. Newcastle will want to get Cisse more chances in front of goal - something they have threatened to to all half, but only actually did once, which resulted in their early opener.
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