Magpies keep on rising after Perez earns beautiful start

FOR a player who attracted tentative interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona, Ayoze Perez delivered the sort of finish that would not have looked out of place in the net at either Camp Nou or the Bernabeu.

And from that moment on, just seconds before the half-time whistle, Newcastle United always looked like making it five wins in a row and a thundering downward header from Fabricio Coloccini just after the hour made sure of it.

Just to reiterate, that is FIVE wins in a row for the Magpies, just weeks after the doom and gloom around Tyneside after starting the Premier League season winless in seven.

The last time Alan Pardew oversaw such a positive run was in the closing stages of the 2011-12 campaign when he ended up with manager of the year awards for guiding Newcastle to a fifth placed finish.

Newcastle are not quite back to those heights yet, but they have leapfrogged Liverpool and sit level on points with Manchester United ahead of an international break which is followed by a home date with Queens Park Rangers.

Newcastle look a team again; cohesive, threatening and capable of scoring goals – and in Perez they appear to have unearthed a real transfer gym.

The 21-year-old’s third for the club was the best of the lot; an audacious flick with his right boot that fans would normally associate with a £30m man rather than a £1.5m bargain buy from the Spanish Second Division.

That finish got Newcastle ticking and Coloccini’s first goal since September 2011 capped off a fruitful Sunday outing.

It was an afternoon which started with a poignant moment before kick-off when The Last Post was played by bugle as part of West Brom’s commemorations on Remembrance Sunday. There was also a plaque unveiled in memory of the club’s former striker Harold Blanche, who volunteered to serve in World War I when he was killed in Ypres in 1916.

The moment was impeccably observed by both sets of fans before West Brom’s current front-man was given the warmest of receptions from the home fans when his name was read out. Saido Berahino received his first call from the England senior squad this week as a reward for his excellent form.

And after Paul Dummett, recalled to the heart of the defence as a replacement for the injured Steven Taylor, had gone close with a header and Sammy Ameobi had curled from distance against the crossbar, Berahino almost put West Brom ahead at the other end.

The young forward, after hitting five in his last five games, was involved in the build up in the Newcastle half before he struck Victor Anichebe’s lay-off from 18 yards at the visitors’ goal. Tim Krul had to be alert to tip over the bar.

That effort brought confidence to Alan Irvine’s team. Suddenly, having started the game on the back foot, there was more adventure in the final third and Newcastle had to be alert to the threat of the two home forwards. Anichebe caused problems initially, but Dummett and Coloccini tended to be on hand to mop things up.

Pardew’s decision to switch Dummett to a central role, promoting Massadio Haidara to left-back, was effective, despite obvious frustration that would have brought on Mike Williamson. Haidara looked to get involved with Ameobi down the line when he could.

On the other flank there was also a willingness to attack from Remy Cabella; given the opportunity to fill the void by injured Gabriel Obertan’s absence. Neither, though, did enough to pose a problem to West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster in the opening half.

That could also have been said of Perez until his moment of magic. The Spaniard preferred ahead of Papiss Cisse, who started on the bench, showed some nice touches outside of the area but rarely had anything to feed off inside the box.

But just as the referee prepared to blow his whistle for the half-time break, the summer signing from Tenerife delivered in style. When Moussa Sissoko and Cabella helped the ball move from left to right, Janmaat had the space to send in a dangerous centre.

The Dutchman rolled his cross towards the penalty spot and Perez moved ahead of his marker before cleverly flicking his first touch inside Foster’s bottom right corner. It was a brilliant finish and was just the tonic Pardew would have hoped for.

While all the talk centred on the youngster’s quality, the main source of that goal had not gone unnoticed by the West Brom camp. When the teams emerged for the second half, the quicker Andre Wisdom was switched to left-back to try to counter the Janmaat threat.

But despite signs that the switch might have worked, the former Feyenoord defender had other ideas. After a period of decent pressure from Newcastle, West Brom failed to clear a Cabella corner properly.

Eventually Newcastle worked the ball back to the right, where Janmaat cleverly beat Youssouf Mulumbu. He followed that up with an exceptional delivery to the back post where Coloccini was left unmarked to direct a powerful header down beyond Foster.

After that the confidence oozed out of Newcastle. They might not have added to their lead, but they never looked in any real danger of allowing a two-goal advantage to slip – even if Coloccini, Ameobi and Cabella were taken off in the final third of the game.

Almost immediately after Coloccini’s withdrawal, Wisdom wasted an incredible chance at the back post to make things interesting when he was left in loads of space. After that moment of madness, however, Newcastle stayed calm to see the job through.

In fact had Foster not brilliantly saved from Perez’s near post volley from Ryan Taylor’s cross, Newcastle would have secured an even greater win. Not that it was needed, Newcastle march onwards or, more precisely, upwards.