West Bromwich, England (SportsNetwork.com) – Newcastle United’s surge up the
Premier League table continued on Sunday as the Magpies eased to a 2-0 victory
over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.
It has been an up-and-down season for Newcastle as Alan Pardew’s men got off
to a terrible start, going winless in their first seven Premier League games
and not earning their first win until a 1-0 result over Leicester City on Oct.
10.
But the Magpies have clicked into form as of late, wining five straight games
across all competitions, including a 2-0 win over defending champions
Manchester City in the League Cup.
Newcastle got off the mark on the stroke of halftime as young forward Ayoze
Perez opened the scoring with some exceptional skill as he got on the end of a
low ball into the box from defender Daryl Janmaat and flicked it into the
bottom left corner with a back-heel effort for his second goal in as many
games.
The visitors doubled the advantage in the 62nd minute as Janmaat turned his
defender inside-out with a quick burst to his right and served a brilliant
cross into the box. Fabricio Coloccini got on the end of it at the far post
and nodded it home for his first goal since January 2011.
Despite having the better of the possession over the 90 minutes, West Brom
rarely looked threatening in attack and the Magpies escaped the Hawthorns with
all three points to climb to seventh place with 16 points.
The Baggies remain in 13th place with 13 points through 11 matches played.
Also in the Premier League on Sunday, Swansea City grabbed two goals in the
final 15 minutes of play to claim a 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Liberty
Stadium.
The Gunners opened the scoring in the 63rd minute as Danny Welbeck got free
down the right flank, cut the ball back and sent a low cross into the middle
to Alexis Sanchez, who fired home with ease.
But the Swans drew level in the 75th minute when Gylfi Sigurdsson ripped an
outstanding, curling free kick into the top left corner, leaving a helpless
Wojciech Szczesny with no chance for a save.
The winner came just three minutes later as Jefferson Montero beat Arsenal
defender Calum Chambers to the end line on the left flank and served a great
ball into the box where former Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis nodded it into the
bottom left corner.
The result lifts Swansea City into fifth place in the table with 18 points,
while Arsenal drops to sixth place on 17 points.
Sunderland and Everton played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday at the Stadium of Light.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 67th minute through Sebastian Larsson’s
second goal of the season in the 67th minute.
But the Black Cats could not hold the lead as Everton drew even in the 76th
minute when Leighton Baines fired home from the penalty spot to force the
sides to share the spoils.
Finally on Sunday in the Premier League, Stoke City hit for a pair of first-
half goals to hang on for a 2-1 win over 10-man Tottenham-Hotspur at White
Hart Lane.
The Potters got off the mark quickly as Bojan Krkic found the back of the net
after just six minutes and Jonathan Walters doubled the advantage in the 33rd
minute.
Nacer Chadli pulled one back for Spurs in the 78th minute as he fired home his
sixth goal of the campaign, but Spurs’ momentum from the goal was quickly
extinguished when defender Kyle Naughton was shown a straight red card with
five minutes to play.
The Potters held on to claim an important three points away from home and move
into ninth place in the table with 15 points, while Spurs drop to 12th place
on 14 points and have lost at home for the fourth time this season.
