Newcastle United began their Premier League campaign with a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at St James' Park, a result that came amid controversy involving manager Alan Pardew. Pardew was sent off for pushing assistant referee Stuart Burt, an incident he later described as 'stupid' and apologised for. On the pitch, Demba Ba opened the scoring with a stunning individual effort, before Jermain Defoe equalised for Spurs with a header late in the second half. Newcastle, however, managed to find a winner to secure all three points.
The match started at a frantic pace, with both sides attacking rapidly. Gylfi Sigurdsson nearly scored on his debut but collided with goalkeeper Tim Krul. As the game settled into a midfield battle, Tottenham's Hatem Ben Arfa drew fouls that led to bookings. Gareth Bale and Sigurdsson combined to set up Defoe, whose shot hit the post. Newcastle's main tactic involved long passes from Cheik Tioté and Ben Arfa, but they found more success when using their full-backs to deliver crosses.
Pardew's touchline altercation occurred in the first half when he pushed linesman Peter Kirkup over a disputed throw-in. He later said: 'It was a stupid moment, and I have to apologise for it. I've been telling my players all week to behave and to try to observe the Olympic spirit, and they did. I didn't, I let myself down.' The incident escalated when Pardew was sent off for pushing Burt again in the second half.
The opening goal came from Ba, who gathered a deep cross, turned inside the area, and curled a sidefoot shot past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Tottenham responded through Defoe, who headed home from a cross, but Newcastle regained the lead soon after to seal the win. André Villas-Boas, the Spurs manager, acknowledged that Ba is a top player who made a difference in a split second.
