Pavlyuchenko on target as Toon tumble again

ROMAN Pavlyuchenko’s first goal in English football helped to pile further pressure on managerless Newcastle as the Carling Cup failed to provide any relief on Tyneside last night.

The Russian, a £13.8m summer arrival at White Hart Lane, thumped home a 62nd-minute free header to put holders Spurs on the road to their first domestic victory of the season. But it was midfielder Jamie O’Hara who sealed the win four minutes later when he capitalised on a dreadful error by Steven Taylor to fire past the stranded Shay Given.

Michael Owen’s 90th-minute strike could not prevent the Magpies’ slipping to a fourth successive defeat.