Pardew irked by RVP elbow

Newcastle 0 Man United 3

Howard Webb failed to take any action against the Dutchman, who could nevertheless face a ban if the referee confirms in his match report he didn’t see the alleged offence, allowing the Football Association to review footage of the off the ball incident with the France international, 10 minutes before the end of a comfortable victory for the visitors that propelled them up to second.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew urged the FA to scrutinise the actions of the United forward, who has history with the Tyneside club following an angry confrontation with Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul last season when playing for Arsenal.

“He’s looked at Yohan and he’s elbowed him,” Pardew insisted in the wake of only a second defeat in 12 games for his side this season.

He added: “It needs to be looked at if I’m honest. There’s a bit of history last year and Robin got caught up with it. It was a bit unsavoury. Yohan wouldn’t have gone down if he (Van Persie) hadn’t done something. I’ve seen it again and he’s looked at him and put his elbow in there. It’s up to the FA to look at, not me.”

After a bad-tempered contest where the sides shared eight cautions, it’s odds-on that Pardew won’t be in a hurry to repeat his suggestion that Alex Ferguson had taken something of gamble with the attacking nature of his team selection.

The Newcastle manager’s assertion shortly before kick-off seemed unwise at the time. With the hosts two goals in arrears after 16 minutes and fortunate not to be staring at a deficit at least double that, Pardew’s words looked laughable.

To their credit, Newcastle recovered to an extent that when Tom Cleverley curled home a memorable third with 19 minutes remaining, the final scoreline somewhat flattered the visitors, who moved ahead of Manchester City on goal difference, four points adrift of Chelsea.

Had an effort from Papiss Cisse early in the second half been judged to have crossed the line — David De Gea’s desperate save was made with mere millimetres to spare — then perhaps Pardew could perhaps have been proved right to raise an eyebrow at the arguably gung-ho look to Manchester United’s line-up, which boasted a forward five of Danny Welbeck, supported ably by Van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Cleverly and Shinji Kagawa.

“That’s the best we’ve played this season, especially the first 20 minutes,” Ferguson said, the irony not lost on the Scot that given the rich array of attacking talent, Manchester United’s first two goals should come from set-pieces, claimed by defenders not known for their scoring prowess.

Patrice Evra made his first appearance on the scoresheet since November, 2010, Jonny Evans adding to the lead with his first goal since March.

Ferguson, who wasn’t asked about the Van Persie incident in his television interviews, added: “I wouldn’t have had any money on either of those scoring.

“There is pressure even at this stage of the season and you don’t want to fall too far behind. If we hadn’t won today we’d have been seven points behind Chelsea.”

After United’s early double blast, Newcastle recovered somewhat and finally began asking questions of Ferguson’s side as the first-half wore on.

But, despite De Gea looking suspect to the aerial threat, the hosts were unable to take advantage of their dominance and failed to find a way to reduce the deficit.

De Gea atoned for his first-half hesitancy with a stunning save immediately after the restart, denying Cisse’s close-range follow-up header with a desperate stop on the line — replays suggested the ball hadn’t fully crossed — after Ba’s initial effort from a Shane Ferguson cross had bounced down off the bar.

“Even looking at it three or four times we’re not sure whether it’s gone in or stayed out,” Pardew confessed.

Ferguson wasn’t without sympathy for Newcastle’s appeals.

He said: “If it had been for us, I’d have been disappointed had we not been given a goal. The rule is that the whole ball has to be over the line but I thought enough of it was over.”

Harper’s hurried save prevented Rooney from stretching the lead, but the third eventually came in memorable style from Cleverley, who curled in from the corner of the area, the England midfielder insisting the effort, arguably a cross-shot, was intentional.

Whether Van Persie’s actions soon after were similarly premeditated is a subject open for debate.

NEWCASTLE (4-4-2): Harper 5; Santon 5, Williamson 5, Perch 5, Ferguson 6 (Anita 63, 6); Ben Arfa 5, Cabaye 5, Tiote 6 (Bigirimana 80, 6), Gutierrez 5; Ba 5, Cisse 6 (Shola Ameobi 63, 6). Subs not used: Alnwick, Simpson, Obertan, Sammy Ameobi.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-1-4-1): De Gea 7; Rafael 7, Ferdinand 8, Evans 8, Evra 8; Carrick 7; Kagawa 7 (Valencia 55, 6), Rooney 7 (Scholes 80, 6), Van Persie 6 (Giggs 87, 5), Cleverley 8; Welbeck. Subs not used: Lindegaard, Anderson, Hernandez, Wooton.

Referee: Howard Webb 6.