Alan Pardew said:

""To be honest, I think we are done. You have got to get 40 points, of course, but we are now seven points from that with nine games left, and you would expect this team to follow through with the standard it has got now to be able to do that.

"But the bigger picture is to finish strongly like Everton (last season) and take it into next year, and we are showing some good signs in terms of doing that.

"We are looking no further than Thursday night because we could have a really special night here on Thursday now. We have got a great opportunity in that competition. We are in the last 16 in Europe.

"We have had to battle through too many games - that competition is too many games for a Premier League team, I'm never going to change my opinion on that.

"But we are down to the real nitty-gritty now. We have got a real quality team coming on Thursday and our fans are well-educated enough to know that it will be tough for us and we are going to need every one of them in here to make the atmosphere such that we squeeze through.

"Papiss (Cisse), I think, would be the first to tell you he was awful today. He didn't do anything, really, to influence other than doing well on some defensive issues for us.

"But then the moment comes. It's an eye-of-the-needle pass from (Sylvain) Marveaux, which he has (the ability to produce). The ball pops up and most strikers would snatch at that.

"But he let it come all the way down and finished it and in the 92nd minute, that's not easy to do, trust me.

""People get them mixed up sometimes, they talk about the spirit of the side and 'You must have a fantastic spirit to come back from a goal down'.

"You need world-class players. You need a world-class player to put that in the top corner from that free-kick to give you a foundation to win the game."
 

For the third successive home league game, Newcastle recovered from falling behind to claim victory and once again conjured up a stoppage time winner to delight supporters who wisely opted not to beat the traffic.

Making seven changes from the side who ground out a scoreless draw in Russia on Thursday, Alan Pardew was without both Shola Ameobi and Hatem Ben Arfa, but boosted by the return of Papiss Cisse from illness.

A drab first half saw neither goalkeeper seriously called into action with Cisse looking below par and the only efforts of note from Yohan Cabaye and Yoan Gouffran, the latter seeing him contrive to lift an effort over the Leazes crossbar from barely seven yards. 

Opting to retain the same lineup for the second half, Alan Pardew watched his side go through the same process once again, enjoying plenty of possession but singularly failing to threaten in the final third - a steady succession of crosses falling nicely for Potters custodian Asmir Begovic.  

A rash challenge by Cheick Tiote to halt the progress of Jonathan Walters then gave Stoke the chance to boost the worst away goal record in the division, and Walters duly obliged from the spot after his recent penalty woes.

That came against the run of play but added a sense of urgency to Newcastle's efforts and they were soon level in memorable style through Cabaye - slotting home a fine free kick at the Gallowgate End after Moussa Sissoko was shoved over on the edge of the area.

The events between the foul and the free kick conversion are worthy of note, with Steven Taylor apparently trying to haul Begovic to his feet after the City 'keeper threw himself to the ground in apparent agony.

Knowing a fellow thespian when he saw, Taylor's next ploy after pushing and shoving some defenders was to position himself right in front of the recovered Begovic and emulate his every movement, to the delight of the supporters behind that goal.

Retreating back into the wall on a couple of occasions as referee Marriner looked to have finally restored order elsewhere in the box, Taylor gave Begovic one further demonstration of his Haka before getting in his face as Cabaye's free kick nestled in the goal.  

Hardly the pinnacle of sportsmanship, but chucklesome and a suitable response to the Acapulco cliff divers impressions exhibited by various City players. And like the  mugging Kevin Nolan before him, it's not the first time that we've indulged in such antics just before scoring. 

The equaliser coincided with a double substitution for United, Alan Pardew deciding that there weren't enough Frenchmen on the field and adding Sylvain Marveaux and Massadio Haidara - the latter for his Premier League bow. 

However, the hoped-for assault on Stoke's goal for the winner didn't really materialise, with neat work from Marveaux in a deep midfield position failing to inspire genuine opportunities for those further forward. 

Still Newcastle persisted though and with rookie reserve Adam Campbell on the field for his Premier League debut, added time saw him find Marveaux with a short pass and the Frenchman thread the ball to an unmarked and onside Cisse, who smashed home his ninth goal of the season. 

That one's for Swifty.

Biffa