The Next Best Thing
Newcastle United 1-0 Queens Park Rangers
Coming off home wins against Manchester United in the league and Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup, the Magpies were looking to continue their winning ways against Mark Hughes new team Queens Park Rangers.
The match started slowly with QPR have the better chances in the early going. A turning point in the match was a rash challenge by Shaun Derry on Yohan Cabaye which earned him a yellow card and forced Cabaye from the match. It was another controversial challenge for referee Chris Foy to assess but this time he chose to keep his red card in his pocket.
With the introduction of Hatem Ben Arfa Newcastle pressed forward and were rewarded with a goal from Demba Ba’s replacement, Leon Best, after a nice piece of skill in the box to slot home his fourth of the campaign. Newcastle controlled the match from then on with both teams generating few quality chances.
The win vaults Newcastle up to 6th in the table after 21 games and leaves QPR sitting in the relegation zone for the first time since the second game of the season. Mark Hughes will have his work cut out for him to preserve their Premier League status.
Here is the match in pictures (click to enlarge):
