Ameobi makes dreams come true for Pardew

IN Alan Pardew’s world, this is the kind of victory that dreams are made of.

Admittedly, it is not a win that guarantees Champions League football, or a last-gasp FA Cup Final victory, or even a success against arch-rivals Sunderland.

But Pardew does not have those dreams. Not yet anyhow. They can wait.

His only ambitions at the moment are to cement Newcastle United’s place in the Premier League, and consequently his own future at the club, however short-lived that tenure would seem to outsiders.

The ludicrous dismissal of Chris Hughton last month underlines, once and for all, that no Newcastle United manager is ever immune from the sack as the club seems to have a lemming-like ability to peer over the edge off chaos and then launch themselves off it.

Pardew admitted as much when he supped from the poison chalice at his unveiling, claiming he had been inundated with messages from others managers suggesting he must be “mad” to take on the position.

That is why wins like this are what his dreams are made off. Because as long as he is pulling them off, and Newcastle are winning on the road, then Pardew can at least be saying he is doing enough to keep the boardroom wolves at bay. Almost.

In the suffocating, tight world of the Premier League, two points yet five places separated these two sides before kick-off, underlining just how entertaining and unpredictable the English top flight has been so far this season and consequently what an important fixture this was for both sides.

However, regardless of its importance, suspension and injury prevented both managers from selecting their bona fida starting XIs as the exciting Charles N’Zogbia was missing for Wigan through suspension while Andy Carroll, Newcastle’s top scorer with 11 goals, was absent with a thigh injury.

Yet their absence did not prevent either side from attempting to play passing, attractive football during a competitive and engaging first half.

Early on, Danny Simpson delivered a wonder cross from the right wing — which Carroll would surely have buried — from just three yards out but Shola Ameobi somehow headed over Ali Al-Habsi’s crossbar.

It was an explosive beginning as Tom Cleverley then almost gave the Latics the lead after just five minutes with a brilliant curling effort that the evergreen Steve Harper had to claw away at full stretch.

After 15 minutes, and after the game had calmed down, Wigan again had a great chance as Mohamed Diame jinked down the left wing and found Cleverley but he could not keep his close-range volley down.

Both sides did their best to play football and knock the ball about and Newcastle were rewarded after 19 minutes when Ameobi gave them the lead.

Steven Gohouri blundered on the edge of his own box and that allowed Joey Barton to fire a low effort that Al-Habsi spilled under pressure from Peter Lovenkrands and after rebounding off the post, Ameobi was on hand to knock into an empty net.

With 10 minutes of the first half remaining, a Gary Caldwell header hit the crossbar and Hugo Rodallega swept the rebound over.

At the other end Fabricio Coloccini almost scored a contender for goal of the season when Barton’s corner floated to him on the edge of the box and the unmarked Argentinian opted to head from 18 yards but his ambition was not adequately rewarded as his effort hit the bar.

Jonas Gutierrez was denied by a fine sprawling effort from Al-Habsi as Wigan desperately needed the break to arrive.

After the interval, the effervescence and fury of the first half was replaced with a more pedestrian affair.

Mauro Boselli came on for Wigan with half an hour left but hopes that his introduction could inspire the home side never got off the ground — a bit like the player himself, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but this corner of Lancashire.

Steven Taylor hit the crossbar with a header following a Barton free-kick — another fine delivery from a player having a wonderful game — and Leon Best missed a late one-on-one.

Jose Enrique fired over in injury time to offer a brief attacking fillip but the quality was not there.

But that does not mean it was not entertaining and that does not mean the result was unimportant.

Just ask Alan Pardew.