45+1mins Loic Remy's foul on de Guzman out on the Swansea right was punished by a free kick, swumg over by Flores and hal-headed clear by Shola Ameobi. A weak second header from Yoan Gouffran fell to Hernandez, who rolled the ball for Vazquez to centre goalwards from the left.

In the middle of his goal, Krul opted to palm the ball clear towards the edge of his own six yard box, to where Nathan Dyer was totally unmarked and perfectly placed to smash home.  0-1

Half time: Swans 1 Magpies 0

66mins Sissoko's chipped cross to Gouffran in the City box saw Williams come through the back of him, the ball bouncing off the the Toon forward's chest and to a home player. City broke upfield and when Jonjo Shelvey was put clean through, Debuchy seemed to have denied him with a last ditch tackle - only for the ball to be blocked by Krul and cruelly bounce back off the defender and in 0-2

81mins Having already had one range-finder that Krul tipped over, Shelvey made no mistake with a similar curling effort from outside the box in front of the South Stand. Game, set and match. 0-3

Full time: Swans 3 Magpies 0

Michael Laudrup:

"They had a couple of chances but it was a deserved result for us. I am really happy for the players because we needed this win. It is an important win against a very good side who came in on the back of four consecutive wins in the Premier League.

"They were a team with a lot of confidence, but even so we played a good game and won 3-0.

"We scored the first goal, which was very important for us, in a crucial moment before half-time, after we had lost our third striker out of three. Playing without strikers but with two offensive midfielders - false nines or whatever you call them - we scored that goal.

"It's bad luck, but when you lose players in the same position, you cannot really do anything."

United's four-game winning run came to an abrupt end at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday, as Alan Pardew's below-par but luckless side endured a night to forget in all departments. And although City deservedly claimed all three points, their three-goal winning margin lent a slightly misleading  to a result that was at least partly attributable to the non-decisions of referee Howard Webb.

It was also a night to forget for Tim Krul, who could look back at all three City goals with a measure of regret. However, a trio of spot kick claims were waved away by Webb, who also failed to dismiss goalscorer Jonjo Shelvey despite his intentional effort to head-butt Mathieu Debuchy.

A fairly sterile first period had seen City dominate possession but Loic Remy come closest to an opening goal, when a well directed header was tipped wide by Michel Vorm. With the home side indulging in their usual passing game but making no real inroads, fellow Dutch custodian Krul had barely seen service until first half added time when conceding the opener to Nathan Dyer. 

The scorer had appeared from the bench quarter of an hour earlier when injury meant that Alvaro Vazquez was unable to continue, handing Michael Laudrup a further striking headache, having already had to select a side without fellow strikers Michu and Wilfried Bony. That had the effect of giving his side an extra man in midfield but as was the case when we won here two seasons ago, the lack of an end product meant home fans only found their voices from set pieces.

Clad in their blue change kit, United began the second period with renewed intent, but the turning point came soon after when Remy had time and space in the box to fire goalward. A clear handball denied the French hitman his ninth goal of the season, but despite being well place, Webb was indifferent to loud pleas from Toon fans and players. Webb later used a spurious "ball to hand" line.  

Debuchy's cross had also hit the arm of Ashley Williams but both offences were missed, unlike the full back's frustrated late challenge seconds later that was spotted and punished with a booking. It was then pretty much game over midway through the second period when Webb waved away a third penalty appeal after Gouffran was pushed in the back - Swansea scoring on the breakaway.

Having escaped censure for his coming together with Debuchy, Shelvey then had an effort saved by Krul before curling a fine first-time shot over the 'keeper to round off a miserable night. Had Mathieu fallen to the turf acrobatically clutching his face then Webb may have been more convinced....

United's worst league defeat in Wales since a 0-4 pummeling at the Vetch Field in 1980 saw them drop one place down to seventh, Spurs climbing after their win at Fulham. And there was further bad news with Hatem Ben Arfa and Papiss Cisse missing due to illness and a heel injury, respectively. 

Cisse was named among the substitutes before being replaced by Paul Dummett, while Ben Arfa remained on Tyneside after going down with an unspecified bug - although he recovered sufficiently to attend Magistrates court on Thursday to receive a driving ban for some motoring malpractice.

Following a fairly torrid evening, left back Davide Santon was withdrawn early in the second half and replaced by fit-again Massadio Haidara - the Italian looking to have been selected by the Swans as a vulnerable point of the team, suggesting they scouted us at White Hart Lane last month. 

And having substituted Ameobi in order to try and keep something in the tank for Saturday's trip to Old Trafford, Pardew also gave Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa some pitch time late on in place of Mike Williamson, accepting his team's fate at 0-2.

While not wholly subscribing to the line that four successive victories had papered over the cracks, we certainly enjoyed various elements of good fortune while amassing those twelve points. That rub of the green rapidly became a kick in the knackers tonight, but spot kick shouts aside, the pattern of our play left much to be desired and the side had a decidedly jaded look - Sissoko and Cabaye summoning up little creativity in midfield, while Tiote had none in the first place.

Without pausing for breath it's off to Old Trafford for the interminable pursuit of a victory there that has eluded us since 1972. That came on the back of a defeat at Hereford - a name glimpsed on road signs en route back from Swansea - but the chances of overcoming David Moyes & Co. remain more than remote, unless we can summon up something more substantial than this routine defeat.  
 
Biffa