A 2-0 win to City may sound like a fairly routine result in this fixture but the score line does little to reflect the controversy and drama that surrounded events on the pitch at St James' Park this afternoon. Newcastle had the better of the opening exchanges with some high tempo pressing but the Magpies fell behind in the eighth minute to a slick passing move, the kind of which have become a trademark of Pellegrini's side. Silva's pinpoint through ball found Kolarov and with Yanga Mbwia nowhere to be seen, the City full back wasted little time in whipping in a cross for Dzeko to finish from close range. The Bosnian striker left Steven Taylor in his wake as he muscled past him for a tap in en-route to handing the Citizens the lead. The goal took the wind out of Newcastle's sails and City dominated for the next 20 minutes, Kolarov in particular enjoying success down the left hand side as Newcastle's defence struggled to cope against the pace of City's attack. Recognising that his team were looking vulnerable, Pardew directed Sissoko and Gouffran to swap wings, with the former better matched to cope with the physicality of City's attacks. Newcastle slowly managed to compose themselves and began to get a foothold in the game as the half drew on. Tiote was magnificent in breaking up the play in midfield and his tenacity gave Pardew's men the platform to press higher up the pitch. With the added impetus came chances and Cabaye had Newcastle's first clear cut opportunity in the 34th minute, his half volley palmed over by Hart. The subsequent corner produced the game's moment of controversy. City scrambled the ball clear and it fell to Tiote who was lurking on the edge of the area. He struck his shot straight and true and it flew through a crowd of bodies, beyond a despairing Joe Hart. The crowd erupted, stirring up memories of his equaliser against Arsenal on this ground a couple of seasons ago. Their joy was short lived however, as the official, Mike Jones, ruled that the goal should not stand. Confusion reigned but it appeared that Gouffran had been in an offside position when the ball was struck. It was a bizaare decision given that the French striker never touched the ball on it's way to goal and he wasn't blocking Hart's view. The crowd turned riotous and there was mayhem as the referee struggled to keep a handle on proceedings. A number of further decisions went against Pardew's men before half time and words were exchanged between the two managers. The second half began in the same bad tempered fashion that had dominated the latter stages of the first half. Newcastle continued to create chances, first with Cabaye firing wide then Hart saving well from the out-of-sorts Remy. The French striker's touch was poor for long periods and he struggled to find his way into the game. In contrast, England's number 1 gave an assured performance, pulling off a number of saves to deny the hosts. Kompany and Demichellis were commanding at the back and the City defence looked impenetrable as the half wore on. Samir Nasri was stretchered off injured mid-way through the second half, with what looked like a bad knee injury, after a Yanga Mbwia challenge. This led to a mammoth 7 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game, with Pardew throwing on Cisse and then Ben Arfa in search of a late equaliser. The extended injury period only served to bring a second City goal, with Alvaro Negredo latching on to James Milner's through ball and coolly slotting home at the second attempt, after benefiting from a kind ricochet off Tim Krul. The result flattered Man City; they defended for long periods of the game and Newcastle had what appeared to be a perfectly decent goal wrongly ruled out. No doubt that City rode their luck today, but they return to Manchester with another victory on the road and sit top of the table.
