That’s all for now. Thanks as always for following along with us and be sure to check back later for a full match report.
Could it be that third-choice goalkeeper Karl Darlow will be remembered as the hero of Newcastle’s campaign to stay up? It was Darlow whose save of Cabaye’s penalty in the 70th minute preserved today’s victory, a development every bit as crucial as Townsend’s wonder strike off a set piece 12 minutes prior.
1 - Karl Darlow is the first Newcastle goalkeeper to save a penalty in the Premier League since Tim Krul vs Blackburn in Feb 2012. Hero.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 30, 2016
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Full-time: Newcastle United 1-0 Crystal Palace
And there it is! The whistle blows on a critical victory for Newcastle United in their struggle to avoid relegation to the Championship. An entire city exhales in relief as the home side is out of the relegation zone for the first time since early February, one point ahead of Sunderland, two clear of Sunderland and 17 above woebegone Aston Villa.
90 min+3: Scary moment for Palace as Hennessey is drawn outside the area as Townsend races onto the ball. Briefly looks like a high foot for Hennessey but no call from Dean.
90 min+1: Ward dispossessed near the halfway line and Newcastle are briefly on the run, but it’s soon coming back the other way as Delaney sends forward a long through pass to Adebayor. But Darlow races off his line to bust up the play and it’s out for a goal kick.
90 min: Five minutes of stoppage time afoot.
87 min: Final sub for Newcastle as Jonjo Shelvey comes on for Vurnon Anita. They immediately win a corner.
85 min: A Newcastle threat abruptly ends when they’re dispossessed and Crystal Palace immediately counters, but a misplayed pass goes past the touchline in the middle third. Some off-the-ball extracurriculars between Mitrovic and Delaney warrants a talking-to from the referee but he declines to put either man in the book.
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83 min: A Cabaye effort sails over the crossbar. Newcastle now tantalizingly close to a crucial victory in their relegation battle.
81 min: Perez nearly makes an instant impact as he uncorks a shot and nearly takes advantage of a hesitant Hennessey, but the effort is off target.
80 min: Another substitution for Newcastle United as Gini Wijnaldum exits for Ayoze Perez.
79 min: Palace really beginning to apply pressure on Newcastle after a series of corners. Darlow forced to come off his line and punch away a loose ball caroming around the area.
76 min: Townsend is simply indefatigable. He carries up the right side in the face of relentless defense and tries to cross into the area but no one is there to receive it.
73 min: Three subs here as we move into the endgame. Just one for Palace as Mitrovic enters for Cisse. Two changes for Newcastle: Dwight Gayle and Emmanuel Adebayor replace Connor Wickham and Jason Puncheon.
71 min: Crystal Palace had made all nine of their previous attempts from the spot this season but they fall short today! Newcastle still on top 1-0 with 20 minutes to go.
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70 min: Cabaye fires a shot to Darlow’s left and Darlow makes the save!
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69 min: Referee blows his whistle. Lots of contact inside the area and ... it appears Mike Dean is pointing to the spot and has ruled it a hand ball. A penalty! Dean rules Sissoko handled the ball and St James’ Park has been silenced in horror.
68 min: Sako’s cross is off target and behind Mbemba and goes out for a Palace corner. Cabaye to take it.
65 min: The action picking up now from end to end. Colback shown a yellow card for a two-handed challenge of an onrushing Puncheon as he carries across the halfway line.
61 min: Delaney wins a free kick from Sissoko on the edge of the Palace box but nothing comes of it.
60 min: Crystal Palace make their first substitution as Bakary Sako replaces James McArthur.
GOAL! Newcastle United 1-0 Crystal Palace (Townsend, 58 min)
Andros Townsend takes a free kick after being hacked down by Scott Dann just outside the area on the right side. Strikes it with the outside of his left foot and it rockets past the outstretched Hennessey into the top-left corner of the net. A moment of brilliance when Newcastle needed it most. The crowd of 52,107 has gone completely ballistic as – at least for now – the home side has broken free from the relegation zone.
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55 min: Right-footed thunderbolt from long range by Townsend but Hennessey tracks it all away and easily scoops it in.
51 min: Corner is played short to Townsend, who crosses into the area near the back post where Newcastle threaten to score but it’s headed out for a corner. Hennessey takes charge on the set piece and wrangles the ball before booting it down past the halfway line and, at least temporarily, interrupting the hosts’ sudden momentum.
50 min: Wijnaldum with a turn into the box and uncorks a right-footed shot on goal but it’s parried away. Moments later he’s back on the ball and wins a corner.
48 min: A slow start for both sides with neither able to keep possession for longer than a few passes at a time.
46 min: And we’re off in the second half.
Half-time: Newcastle United 0-0 Crystal Palace
And there’s the whistle for half-time with the teams still in a nil-nil deadlock. Plenty more to come from St James’ Park.
45 min+2: Palace midfielders trade short passes while probing for an opening, but ultimately the long entry pass is sent long past the goal line. A false whistle sounds from the crowd but referee Mike Dean urges the players to continue.
45 min: The fourth official signals for three minutes of added time.
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44 min: Colback with a left-footed shot from well inside the area, trying to curl it inside the far post but missing by feet. Best chance of the game for Newcastle with a minute or so left in the first half.
42 min: A great shot from Bolasie on the volley and an even greater save by Darlow, who parries it away. Bolasie has been a terror in the final third today.
38 min: Colback sends the ball into the area and Sissoko rises into the air and attempts an acrobatic reverse half-volley flick but just misses contact. What a goal that might have been.
Moussa Sissoko. Photograph: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
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36 min: A patient build-up by Newcastle is quickly blown up by Palace, but the hosts win it back and within moments a long-distance shot from Chancel Mbemba is turned away by Hennessey. Gripping if sometimes loose two-way action here.
32 min: Rapid-fire counter-attack keyed single-handedly by Bolasie. He carries up the left flank into the middle of the pitch before firing a speculative shot that just misses the target.
30 min: Palace taking their good old time on these set pieces and restarts and getting an earful from the St James’ Park crowd.
27 min: A hair-trigger save by Darlow off a shot by Cabaye from close range! Best chance of the match by either side.
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25 min: Dummett carries up the left side and tries to cross but it’s blocked out by Ward for a corner. Still, nothing comes of it and before long it’s cleared toward the halfway line.
23 min: Bolasie surges up the left flank and wins yet another corner. Puncheon takes it but it’s immediately cleared.
22 min: The teams have trading possession mostly in the middle third during a bit of a rudderless patch.
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18 min: Another corner for Palace, this time won by Bolasie. It’s cleared out beyond the goal line for another corner.
15 min: Two near-chances for the roving Townsend, who has shown a relentless pace and work rate in the final third today if not yet the chances to show for it. It goes out for a goal kick.
12 min: Lascelles matches Dann’s perfectly timed tackle from a moment ago with a challenge that breaks up what looked to be a clear chance for Palace.
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10 min: A strong start for Palace, who moments ago put a shot on goal that forces a save from Darlow. Alas, the flag signaling offside was up.
8 min: Wonderful through ball sent into the area to Cisse, who was square with last defender Scott Dann. Looks to be the best chance of the match as the crowd swells, but a last-gasp tackle by Dann disrupts it.
6 min: Newcastle have kept possession and have it down in the final third but haven’t been able to generate a meaningful chance. A vicious challenge by Mbemba as they lose possession and Palace move to counter-attack and he’s shown yellow.
3 min: Palace win the first corner of the match and Cabaye, the former Newcastle man, will take it. It’s sent long and wide of the area where it’s received by Ward, who is fouled. Free-kick opportunity from a distance for the visitors.
2 min: Andros Townsend receives the ball near the halfway line and carries it 30 meters up the right flank, but the cross into the area is mishit and goes out for a goal kick.
1 min: And we’re underway at St James’ Park! Newcastle attacking left to right in traditional home kits, Palace from right to left in red and blue shirts and blue shorts.
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The big story about today’s match is the return of Alan Pardew to St James’ Park for the first time since leaving Newcastle for Crystal Palace. The 54-year-old can expect a hostile reception today as our Dominic Fifield relayed this week.
Alan Pardew initially spoke fondly of his time on Tyneside as the public face of a “beast” of a football club, and even declared he was “desperate” for Newcastle United to survive another season of toil. But as soon as the cameras went off, the shutters came down. There would be “zero questions” permitted from the written press addressing his first return to his former employers, with a manager forever conscious of how the most innocuous of comments might be misconstrued reverting to safety-first mode. Talk instead about Eddie Jones or Mark Clattenburg. Even Crystal Palace. Anything but Newcastle.
Those who believe Pardew loves hogging the limelight will presume he is relishing being at the centre of the story again as he emerges into the away side’s technical area at St James’ Park on Saturday. He knows the reception he will be afforded, for all that the locals’ priority will be to roar on their own to a much-needed victory. In truth, since taking up his role at Selhurst Park 16 months ago, the 54-year-old has appeared distinctly uncomfortable whenever the whole Newcastle issue crops up.
He spoke on the subject before his first Premier League game in charge after Palace had paid £3.5m to release him from a long-term contract on Tyneside, presumably hoping to draw a line under it all. Seven weeks later the normal pre-match media briefing was shelved before a 1-1 draw with a Newcastle overseen by his friend and former assistant John Carver. Maintaining that theme, he asked his No2, Keith Millen, to address a deflated media in November before sending out a team who spanked Steve McClaren’s visitors 5-1. He has gone out of his way to divert the focus from his connections to Newcastle and Mike Ashley but, for all his deflecting tactics, the theme will be inescapable this weekend.
Hello and welcome to today’s match between Newcastle and Crystal Palace at St James’ Park. We’re just about a half hour from kick-off so here’s a look at today’s teams before a run through the plotlines swirling around today’s action.
Newcastle
XI: Darlow, Anita, Mbemba, Lascelles, Dummett, Townsend, Tiote, Colback, Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Cisse
Subs: Woodman, Taylor, Mbabu, Shelvey, De Jong, Perez, Mitrovic
Crystal Palace
XI: Hennessey, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare, Jedinak, Cabaye, Puncheon, McArthur, Bolasie, Wickham
Subs: McCarthy, Mariappa, Kelly, Ledley, Sako, Gayle, Adebayor
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime have a look at Louise Taylor’s match preview.
Alan Pardew returns to the club where mention of his name still polarises opinion, in charge of a Palace side who may have reached the FA Cup final but remain on a shocking league run. They do though possess Yohan Cabaye, and Rafa Benítez will be anxious to stop Tyneside’s one-time favourite midfielder reminding the club what they are missing. Cabaye needs to be kept quiet if Newcastle are to secure the victory they so desperately need.
