Chris Hughton relieved as lead restored
Jan 28 2010 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
CHRIS Hughton has admitted he was more relieved with the result than pleased with the performance as Newcastle made hard work of securing their first league win of the year.
The 2-0 victory restored Newcastle’s three-point lead at the top of the Championship and was another triumph for the battling qualities of Hughton’s side, but the performance was largely disappointing.
Newcastle struggled to get into the groove and it needed a gift from Palace defender Shaun Derry to give them the lead when he sliced Andy Carroll’s header into his own net in the first half.
Palace, though, never gave up and there were a few uncomfortable moments before substitute Nile Ranger belatedly gave Newcastle room to breathe when he scampered on to Wayne Routledge’s through-ball in injury time.
“We needed the second goal a lot earlier than we got it but the win is all that matters,” said Hughton, who will hope an injury to Jose Enrique does not prove to be too serious.
