Alan Pardew said:

"As much as we wanted to try and force the issue at the start of this game, Manchester United had a golden period and in that first ten minutes we couldn't get near them. 

"We were trying to put pressure on the ball and they were just bouncing it around us. But at the end of the day it's not a bit of magic, it's two set plays - something we pride ourselves on and something we are good at.

"Those are the first goals we have conceded from set plays this year, and that's disappointing.

"They got another break because the guy (Cleverley) puts a cross in - there's no doubt about that - and it goes right in the top corner, and suddenly it's game over.

"It's a disappointing result but there were periods in the game where I thought we did well.....when they got that third goal they were on cruise control then."

On the van Persie elbow:

"He’s looked at Yohan and he’s elbowed him - I think that perhaps needs to be looked at, to be honest.

"We wanted to win so we could go into the derby in really good fettle. Sadly we didn’t manage that, so it’s all about rolling our sleeves up and having a real go.”

Three days after overcoming Bordeaux by three goals at St. James' Park, Newcastle lost by the same scoreline to the side that they had memorably defeated 3-0 there last season.

The defensive shortcomings evident in draws at Everton and Reading again proved costly as we fell behind - and on this occasion, our much-vaunted front line proved incapable of repairing the damage at the other end.  

Regardless of the fact that both Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor were again absent, Alan Pardew would surely have been livid as his side conceded two cheap goals from corners in the opening quarter of an hour.  

Defensive duo Evans and Evra were both able to evade their alleged markers and head past Steve Harper to register rare goals, while the presence of ex-Gunner Robin van Persie gave rise to fears that SJP could be in for a repeat of Arsenal's 0-4 half time advantage here back in 2011. 

Looking to battle back from those early setbacks, the black and whites had half-chances to reduce the arrears before half time, but crucially were restricted to shots from distance that failed to test David De Gea.

The Spanish custodian however was called into action five minutes after the restart when Demba Ba's effort came back off the crossbar and a stooping Papiss Cisse headed the rebound goalwards - De Gea looking to claw the ball away before it had wholly crossed the line.

The sucker punch came in the 71st minute, when Tom Cleverley's over-hit cross from the left flank looped over Harper and into the top corner of the Gallowgate net. 

Cleverley claimed later that he meant it, but regardless of how true that is, the goal ended any lingering hopes of a Magpies comeback - the same player having scored his first senior goal for the Red Devils last month to settle our recent League Cup meeting.

Both sides had four bookings and some tasty tackles could have seen more severe punishment, while Cisse's shirt was tugged in the area and Robin van Persie caught Yohan Cabaye in the face with a flailing arm.

Once again though, Howard Webb and his team proved to be masterfully indecisive, erring on the side of cautions rather than giving red cards, penalties or goals - a bit like the World Cup Final revisited...

The fourth official also seemed to be firmly in the Fergie fan club, more than happy to let the visiting manager ignore the designated technical area and linger on the touchline for most the of the first half.   

To blame the officials for costing us anything from this game though ignores the nagging feeling that had we scored, then the visitors would have raised themselves accordingly and threatened Harper's goal once more.

And while Wayne Rooney was too often allowed to roam as he pleased, Fergie's side kept Hatem Ben Arfa well shackled and as a consequence, we struggled in the creativity stakes. Set pieces were a non-event.

Shane Ferguson had his hands full at left back too often to continue his recent run of assists from the left wing, while up front Cisse seemed intimidated by the visiting defence and Ba fared no better. 

The introduction of Shola Ameobi failed to help us retain possession up front, while Vurnon Anita's midfield cameo saw hints of promise when he tried to push forward, but could hardly be interpreted as a positive replacement.  

The defeat left us in tenth and we'll need to make good use of the next fortnight to ensure things are more coherent for the trip to wearyside. A few more first-choice defenders would be handy, but some backsliding right across the team was evident today - if this defeat pricked a few egos then it won't have been in vain.

Biffa