Newcastle 2 Aston Villa 1
Papiss Demba Cisse announced his arrival in English football with a stunning debut goal as Newcastle edged past Aston Villa.
The 26-year-old Senegal striker thumped a 71st-minute volley past former Magpies keeper Shay Given to win a pulsating Barclays Premier League encounter in which the visitors enjoyed the better of the first half, but could not make the most of their chances.
Cisse, who was introduced as an early replacement for the injured Leon Best, saw international team-mate Demba Ba fire the home side into a 30th-minute lead but, after Darren Bent had twice been denied by keeper Tim Krul, Robbie Keane levelled deep into first-half stoppage time.
However, Alan Pardew's men improved after the break and, to the delight of a crowd of 48,569, managed to see out time to bank another three points.
Newcastle ran out determined to reclaim the fifth place into which they had climbed as a result of Wednesday night's hard-fought victory at Blackburn, and with Ba back in harness.
He was to be joined within 14 minutes by new signing Cisse in what was to prove an eventful first half.
Villa lost the...
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