Half time: Swans 0 Magpies 0

76 mins Matt Ritchie's corner at the South end of the ground was met by the forehead of Jamaal Lascelles, who rose above Alfie Mawson to plant a header into the back of the net. Poetry. 1-0

Full time: Swans 0 Magpies 1

(Rafa Benitez was absent as he recovered from an operation to remove an infection that had been present since surgery to repair a hernia two years ago. Attempts to reach Tyneside from his home in the North West on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday were all aborted as he remained in discomfort, with coach Francisco de Miguel Moreno aka Paco handling Friday's press conference). 




After the match, Paco said:

"I feel very happy, very glad for the performance of the players.

"We expected them to play with five at the back and we realised it was four but everything was as planned. We tried to control their midfielders and attack down wide.

"Jamaal Lascelles has the spirit of a captain, without doubt. He manages everything so well and is involved in all situations.

"Mikel (Antia, coach) was on the touchline and Antonio (Gomez Perez, coach) was in the stands communicating with Rafa. Between the four of us we were making a plan of communication and it worked perfectly.

"After the game Rafa rang and he has congratulated everybody, especially the players because they have done a massive job.

"We are very glad because we planned the game to try and win three points and we did it.

"We were very serious in some stages of the game, we were very compact, disciplined and worked hard together.

"We were very balanced between defence and attack and we are very pleased with the team."

Goalscorer/goalsaver Jamaal Lascelles:

"We have set a standard now. We will be hard to beat back home but if we play like this every week, we will do well. It is down to us to bring it every week.'

"The manager rang me this morning and told me to make sure the boys were on it. Hopefully he gets well soon and gets back with us."

Paul Clement:

"Although the margin of the defeat is small, I'm more disappointed with our performance.

"I'm really not satisfied with the way we played. There was obviously a lot of expectation coming into the game with new signings and old faces back at the club.

"Then there's the reality of going out and playing and for me, we were second-best all afternoon - in the combats, the duels, the first and second balls, in the tactics, in all aspects.

"That's not good enough and I take responsibility for that performance. It's not one I'm very proud of and we've got to move forward quickly and turn that around.

"It's collective responsibility and I'm at the head of that. When I look at the performance and the week we had going into it - really positive - I didn't expect that at all.

"That's why football can be so strange sometimes. We had good training week, all our meetings were very good.

"I had a good feeling going into the game with the atmosphere around the squad - then there's the actual game and what I saw was not what I expected.

"Tammy's got around the goalkeeper at 0-0 and on another day we might have got something out of that.

"We pushed right at the end but didn't get any real quality into the box that was going to hurt them. We kept going but overall it wasn't good enough. 

"I think there's going to be a lot from that game we could have done better." 

Two years since we last sat round the same table in the same pub a short walk from the ground, a Swansea supporter acknowledged our return with a simple "welcome back" as he passed by.

The surroundings - and spectators - may be unchanged, but an entirely new Newcastle team to that which took to the field at the Liberty Stadium in 2015 were in action here today - and ultimately gained their reward for a vastly better approach and attitude. 

That last visit saw Steve McClaren in charge for his second game, overseeing a non-performance that we labelled "woeful" and armed with a game plan that seemed to consist only of getting back across the Severn Bridge before dark.

Illness may have prevented Rafa from seeing his first Premier League away win as Newcastle boss first-hand today, but his hallmarks of preparation and organisation were still more than evident.

The coaching staff relayed instructions as the manager tuned in at home, with a helicopter placed on standby to ferry him the 170 miles from the Wirral remaining unused.

A Captain's performance from Jamaal Lascelles with crucial interventions at both ends of the field was the story of this game, but the whole side contributed to a first top-flight success since that at White Hart Lane in December 2015 - long-overdue, given that venue no longer even exists.....

Following a first half in which United had fashioned the better chances and failed to score only due to a fabulous block from Lukas Fabianski to deny Joselu, the first headlining action from Jamaal was to block a goalbound shot from Tammy Abraham after the on-loan striker had got round Rob Elliot.

That came on the hour and a shade over 15 minutes later, Lascelles was receiving congratulations from his colleagues again - this time at the other end of the pitch having headed home a corner by birthday boy Matt Ritchie.

Those two passages of play were backed up by solid and committed performances across the field from a side including Jesus Gamez at left back - who gave easily his best display for the club and made up what he may have lacked in speed with guile.

It's not a moment too soon for the former Malaga and Atletico Madrid full back though, perceived as one of Rafa's failed signings and seeing centre half Chancel Mbemba preferred to him at left back against West Ham - even though Gamez had played in that position previously in his career.

Whether Mbemba would have continued there today if he hadn't injured himself on international duty isn't clear, but with Paul Dummett knacked, Massadio Haidara not fit enough to be risked and Jack Colback out of favour, it was high time for Gamez to justify his presence in the squad. 

With Aleksandar Mitrovic beginning a three game ban and Dwight Gayle starting on the bench, Joselu retained his starting place and again impressed with his willingness to fight fairly for the cause. 

Pick of the midfielders meanwhile was Mikel Merino - rapidly becoming a terrace idol and an absolute pleasure to watch, aside from his Tayloresque dive in the box. He also combined well with Isaac Hayden, who put in a good shift despite being burdened with a very early booking. Jonjo Shelvey won't automatically walk back into this team on reputation.

Once ahead, United proved equal to a couple of home corners and were able see out the additional five minutes without any major upsets - the returning Wilfried Bony showing the form that left him trailing Peter Crouch in Stoke City's striker selection last season.... 

Back to back victories then - and one to be particularly savoured by those who defied Sky's wicked match scheduling to get here, and will do it all again in a fortnight when those cynical bastards send us to Brighton on a Sunday afternoon. No agenda though, they just don't like us.

That this win came against potential rivals was even more important than raising the general mood around the club though - taking three points off this lot could be the difference between staying up and going down.

Our most recent relegation included a double over Spurs, victory over Liverpool and draws against Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. Watford did the double over us.  

Victory today left United tenth in the table with six points from four games - a total that took them eight attempts to reach in 2014 and nine the year after. 

Coming back from this game, mention was made of the banner infamously displayed by Newcastle fans at Leicester in 2015 ("we don't demand a team that wins, we demand a club that tries.")

On the evidence of today, we at least look to have a team that tries. Welcome back indeed.

Biffa