24 mins Schar brought the ball forward down the United right and played it inside to Issac Hayden, who found Salomon Rondon with a first-time pass. The forward lost possession but Jack Cork's clearance went straight to Javier Manquillo who played it back to Fabian Schar. 

The Swiss defender strode forward before unleashing an unstoppable pile driver that flew in off the right Leazes upright as Clarets 'keeper Tom Heaton made a despairing dive. 1-0

38 mins Longstaff brought the ball forward after Hayden had won it near the halfway line. He played it to Miguel Almiron who swept the ball out to Ritchie down the left. After a slight mis-control Ritchie's cross was headed away by Ben Mee but only to the feet of Sean Longstaff. 

The midfielder steadied himself before lashing a low effort into the far bottom corner and wheeling away in sheer ecstasy. 2-0

Half time: Magpies 2 Clarets 0

Full time: Magpies 2 Clarets 0

Newcastle's recent revival continued on Tuesday with a second home win and clean sheet in four days, propelling them to thirteenth in the table - their highest placing since back in November.

Memorable strikes from Fabian Schar and Sean Longstaff  were enough to wrap up a seasonal double over the Clarets, a first league defeat of 2019 ending their eight game unbeaten sequence.

A 30-yard thunderbolt from Schar via a post in the 24th minute put the hosts ahead before local lad Longstaff's maiden Premier League goal seven minutes before half-time made it a memorable night.

The roar that greeted the Swiss defender's opener was exceeded when Longstaff rammed the ball in at the Leazes End where he'd almost scored on Saturday, his celebrations accompanied by deafening choruses of "he's one of our own".

Fresh from beating Spurs on Saturday, Burnley showed little appetite for mounting anything other than an aerial bombardment of our box - although they got little joy from a Magpies back three who were all outstanding.

Martin Dubravka made one crucial save to deny Chris Wood just after the opening goal and later , while the inability of James Tarkowski to get his volley on target from just six yards out thankfully saw United go in at the interval still two goals to the good.

Miguel Almiron continued where he left off on Saturday and there were further encouraging moments from a front trio comprising of him, Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon - especially in the first half.

The only change from Saturday's XI saw Javier Manquillo in for DeAndre Yedlin while Kenedy, Jonjo Shelvey, Antonio Barreca, Federico Fernandez and Yoshinori Muto all failed to even make the squad. 

The searing pace of Almiron almost caused an upset when United were 2-0 up, chasing an apparent lost cause and coming desperately close to beating Clarets custodian Tom Heaton to it.

His best chance of his first goal in England tonight came on 53 minutes though, when Perez's clipped pass sent him scampering clear on goal. However, Heaton came off his line to deny the Paraguayan with his foot at the expense of a corner kick.

The closing 20 minutes saw Sean Dyche's side throw countless high balls forward in an apparent attempt to replicate a Wimbledon game plan from 1988 - 38 year-old Peter Crouch arriving from the bench for a cameo role of the type Mick Harford once thrived on. 

Save for one mad scramble in the box late on though, clear-cut chances were in short supply for Burnley and a trio of home substitutions all broke up play and caught the eye in different ways.

Following an apparently accidental elbow by Crouch Mo Diame required treatment on the field and ended up with a bandage wrapped round his head, while Paul "Sergio" Dummett's return after nine games saw him sporting distinctive platinum blonde hair.   

Joselu's successful attempt at winning a free kick inside his own half meanwhile looked to have seen him trodden on by an opponent, but referee Craig Pawson declined to do anything about that.  

The replacement of Almiron and Longstaff brought standing ovations from a home crowd who had been quiet at times after good early noise. Into five minutes of added time though, the soundtrack was firmly in support of the manager, who took the adulation of the crowd along with his players at full time - Longstaff still grinning from ear to ear. 

Results elsewhere left Rafa's side seven points clear of the relegation zone - 13 points from a possible last 18 representing a fairly amazing resurgence since the defeat at Chelsea that left us third bottom.

Almiron's mid-season arrival seems to have put a collective spring in the step on Tyneside, while the emergence of Longstaff and rediscovering the knack of winning at St.James' Park have also elevated the mood significantly round these parts.

Putting daylight between us and the danger zone with ten games left is above all a collective effort though; the likes of Schar and Isaac Hayden now making worthwhile contributions after some previously unconvincing displays.

For the first time this season, the manager has genuine options and selection problems of a positive kind, save for the talismanic Rondon, whose absence would require a radical tactical rethink.

The on-loan striker may not have looked like adding to his goal tally tonight - save for one first half header- but was invariably shackled (and impeded) by two defenders, occupying them without complaint to the benefit of his team mates. 

Had we had him - and Almiron - at the start of the season and match fit then, the whole dynamic of this season could have been entirely different rather than enduring a team game winless start.

Biffa