Shaky Magpies pushed hard

NEWCASTLE held off an Aston Villa rally to pick up three Premiership points at St James’ Park.

Glenn Roeder’s men looked to have victory all but wrapped up inside the opening seven minutes when James Milner, who spent last season on loan at Villa Park, and Kieron Dyer fired them into a 2-0 lead.

But the visitors, who started with a new-look strike force of £8m man Ashley Young and John Carew, pulled a goal back when former Watford star Young opened his account on 25 minutes — and the Magpies crumbled.