Senegalese striker Papiss Cisse kept up his impressive scoring record to inspire Newcastle United as they came from behind to beat Everton 3-2 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Cisse’s fifth goal in six games sparked the recovery after Arouna Kone had found the net on his full English Premier League debut for Roberto Martinez’s Everton, an injury-ravaged 18 months after joining from Wigan Athletic.
Cisse leveled before the interval, then second-half goals from Ayoze Perez and Jack Colback enabled Alan Pardew’s men to end a four-game losing streak.
Photo: AFP
Substitute Kevin Mirallas gave Everton hope by reducing the arrears in the 84th minute from Leighton Baines’ through-ball, but it was not enough to prevent Everton sliding to a third straight defeat.
The Merseyside club have won just once in their past seven league games, losing five.
Martinez made seven changes to the team beaten 1-0 by Stoke City on Boxing Day, notably handing a top-flight debut to England under-21 international defender Luke Garbutt, and saw Everton take a fifth-minute lead.
Aiden McGeady’s pass cut out Yoan Gouffran and found Seamus Coleman making progress down the right. The Irishman sent over an inviting low cross and Kone swept home confidently from close range.
It was the Ivory Coast international’s first goal since May last year, his Goodison Park career having stalled after he suffered a serious knee injury that ruled him out for most of last season.
Moussa Sissoko spurned a clear opening to draw Newcastle level, a heavy first touch allowing goalkeeper Joel Robles to block as the midfielder bore down on goal from a Cisse flick, but the hosts drew level 11 minutes before the break, as their increasing pressure finally told.
Cheick Tiote swapped passes with Colback and sent over a deep cross that Mike Williamson hooked back to Cisse, who made no mistake from close range.
Cisse was perhaps fortunate to still be on the field at that point, having earlier caught Coleman in the throat with a flailing arm in an off-the-ball incident that went unseen by the match officials.
Pardew’s side ended the half in the ascendency and it took a fine block from Sylvain Distin to deny Daryl Janmaat as the Netherlands international latched onto Paul Dummett’s knock-down from a Perez center.
Robles produced a fine save low to his left to keep out a Gouffran effort early in the second half, but Newcastle did not have to wait long before taking a 51st-minute lead.
As with the first goal, Tiote was prominent in the buildup, finding Perez on the edge of the Everton area.
The Spaniard turned and threaded a low shot through the legs of his marker Coleman and into the bottom-left corner past a rooted Robles.
Samuel Eto’o should have equalized just after the hour, but the former Cameroon striker wasted some determined approach play from Baines by firing the defender’s low cross wastefully over.
They were made to pay with 23 minutes left when Newcastle stretched their advantage through Colback’s first goal for the club.
Janmaat’s ball into the Everton area should have easily been cut out by Ross Barkley, but the substitute allowed the pass to reach Colback, a close-season signing from neighbors Sunderland, who rolled a left-footed shot past Robles.
Cisse almost made it four soon after, only to be denied by Robles, but despite Mirallas giving the visitors hope, it was to prove immaterial.
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