Newcastle put a halt on their recent poor run with a victory over Aston Villa this Sunday and in the process chalked up their 300th Premier League win, thanks to Loic Remy's last gasp strike. Pardew asked for the Newcastle fans to get behind their faltering team in his programme notes and the Geordie faithful responded, with a crowd of over 50,000 in attendance at St James' Park. The game began brightly enough for the Magpies with Tiote robbing Delph in the very first minute before setting up the returning Remy, the striker stinging Guzan's palms with a low drive. However Newcastle's early warning only served to stir Villa and Lambert's men enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges. Bacuna swept a freekick just wide and Agbonlahor began to exert his influence on proceedings. The Englishman had a string of chances, with his direct running causing Newcastle problems, culminating in a wonderful drive from 25 yards that whistled just over the bar after 18 minutes. The home fans became increasingly frustrated with the Magpies inability to keep possession, with young full back Paul Dummett, in for Santon, having a particularly poor game. Lambert must have been delighted with the freedom with which his side were playing and the midfield partnership of Delph and Westwood looked impressive, the latter pulling the strings in midfield. From one such attack Delph managed to whip in successive cutbacks that begged for a touch to steer the ball home. Unfortunately the out-of-sorts Benteke was nowhere to be seen. For all of Villa's good play it was Newcastle who had the best chance of the half, deep into injury time. Remy managed to break free down the left and when he cut the ball back he left Cisse with the whole goal to aim at, from all of 8 yards. The Senegalese striker could only blaze wildly over, much to the anguish of the Newcastle fans. Newcastle began the second half with more urgency and Debuchy enjoyed success down his flank, forcing a number of corners. Villa began to fall a little further back as both teams struggled to hold on to possession. The home fans were becoming increasingly frustrated and Pardew reacted, bringing off the woeful Cisse for De Jong. The game began to open up as both teams tired, Benteke robbing Tiote in midfield and setting off on a counter attack. However Williamson made a wonderful interception and the opportunity was wasted. From the resulting attack Newcastle had a shout for a penalty, with Bacuna clearly handling Colocinni's pass. Referee Atkinson was unmoved amid the home fan's increasingly desperate appeals. It looked like the game was destined for a goalless draw when Remy wasted a near open goal on 87 minutes. Vlaar inexplicably dallied on the ball in his own box under pressure from De Jong and was robbed by the striker. He cut the ball back to a waiting Remy but the Frenchman could only strike his shot against the base of the post. However, Newcastle surged forward again with less than two minutes left on the clock Remy controlled a deflected shot in the area before swivelling and firing home past Guzan. A game in which Newcastle deserved nothing and Villa deserved at least a draw ended with all three points heading to Tyneside. The result relieves the pressure on Pardew...for now. Man of the match: Gabriel Agbonlahor
