Toffees compound Toon tumult

In answer to the question on a myriad of Geordie lips, Demba Ba probably was watching.

And it wouldn’t have escaped him that it took Newcastle 73 seconds to come to the erroneous conclusion that they might not miss the departing forward, only to then spend the subsequent 88-and-a-half minutes coming to the realisation that, actually, they just might.

All things considered, the thick end of £5m profit after a return of 27 goals in 53 starts over 18 months from a forward with a previously brittle fitness record isn’t a bad piece of business, but while their bottom line may have benefited from Ba’s imminent unveiling as a Chelsea player, the equally crucial figures that make up the Premier League table make for rather more uncomfortable reading.

It’s nine defeats in 11 league games for Alan Pardew’s side, freefall territory to leave them two points above the relegation zone and now shorn of its 13-goal top scorer who, in stark contrast, is busy contemplating a future at the sharp end of England’s top division.

The loss of their talisman in the first instance had a galvanising effect, evidenced by Papiss Cisse, a forward who seems to come alive at the start of each calendar year, giving them a second minute lead. If any side are able to weather the kind of initial storm of emotion they were met with on Tyneside, it’s Everton, who emerged deserved victors to climb back up to fifth with only a second victory in this part of the North-East in 12 attempts.

After Leighton Baines ensured parity before the interval, the stirring comeback was sealed on the hour by a telling first touch from Victor Anichebe, the substitute having entered the fray barely a minute earlier, who beat Davide Santon to a low centre from Nikica Jelavic to poke home the winner from five yards.

But it was Baines’ goal that will generate much of the chatter around Merseyside — and indeed the rest of England, such was its quality.

Faced with a 30-yard free kick right of centre it looked improbable at best but after it cleared a disintegrated wall, there was something very predictable about the final destination.

And the defender delighted at the final whistle. “We were off the back of a defeat and Newcastle are fighting at the moment so we knew it would be tough,” he said.

“They set off at a hard pace but we fought back.”

Just before that equaliser, the home side were fortunate for a timely block from Mike Williamson to halt a goal-bound Marouane Fellaini effort after the forward combined well with Jelavic and Steven Pienaar.

When it took another smart piece of work from Krul to deny Pienaar with his feet when the midfielder was sent clean through by — who else? — Baines, it seemed only a matter of time before the visitors would draw level. Baines’ free-kick finding the top corner after Fabricio Coloccini had proved rather too enthusiastic in a challenge with the equally hirsute Fellaini.

With very little option to do otherwise, Newcastle fielded a starting line-up with just half-a-dozen Premier League goals between them this season, so the tonic of an early goal couldn’t be over-stated. The mixture of relief and elation was palpable as they took to route one to undo the visitors inside the opening seconds.

Krul may have shipped 11 goals in the previous two games, but the Newcastle goalkeeper turned provider when his hefty free-kick from just outside his own area eluded a misguided effort from Heitinga to clear, bouncing through to Cisse, who sent a looping header over Tim Howard from 10 yards.

‘Are you watching Demba Ba?’ immediately, inevitably, rang out from the stands. He probably was somewhere, as was Mathieu Debuchy, the France international defender who was sat in the directors’ box ahead of finalising a £5m move from French club Lille later this week.

Cisse should perhaps have done better when, with celebrations still ringing around the ground, the forward was inches from meeting a cross from Gabriel Obertan, when any kind of contact would have resulted in the ball finding the back of the net. The frustration was compounded when James Perch needed to be a fraction more accurate with an unmarked header from Vurnon Anita’s cross on the half hour, the ball rebounding off the inside of the post.

The hosts had opportunities to score either side of a sixth goal of the season for Anichebe, Shola Ameobi shooting wide after accepting a pass from Anita, while Cisse was denied at similarly close quarters by Howard, who also beat out a near post effort from Obertan. When Howard denied Santon from an acute angle late on, it was clear that the spectre of the departing Ba might hang over St James’ Park for just a little while longer.

Asked about Everton’s prospects for the rest of the season, Baines added: “We don’t know (how far we can go). We have not talked about it a lot.

“We just have to keep winning games and putting in good performances. If we can stay around the boys at the top as long as we can hopefully we will give ourselves something to go for at the end of the season.”

NEWCASTLE (4-2-3-1) Krul 7; Perch 6 (Ranger 87, 5), Williamson 5, Coloccini 5, Santon 5; Anita 6, Tiote 6 (Sammy Ameobi 80, 5); Cisse 6, Marveaux 6, Obertan 7 (Bigirimana 65, 6); Shola Ameobi 5.

EVERTON (4-4-1-1) Howard 7; Jagielka 7, Heitinga 6, Distin 6, Baines 9; Naismith 3 (Anichebe 58, 7), Neville 7, Osman 7, Pienaar 7; Fellaini 7; Jelavic 6 (Oviedo 88, 5).

Referee: Martin Atkinson (6).