Newcastle United claimed their first Premier League points under Steve Bruce after a solid 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Club record signing Joelinton struck in the first half after a sumptuous through ball by Christian Atsu, finishing superbly.
Despite Spurs enjoying the majority of the possession, Bruce has clearly drilled his side defensively as they performed a rearguard action and repelled wave after wave of attack.
Harry Kane appealed for a penalty after being brought down by Jamaal Lascelles, but VAR ruled the Magpies skipper had not brought down his man deliberately.
Mauricio Pochettino must prepare his troops for a north London derby against rivals Arsenal next Sunday, while Bruce will savour this victory before welcoming bottom side Watford to St James’ Park.
Not many people would have given them much hope beforehand as Spurs were heavy favourites, but that was not accounting for their chronic problem of making bad starts to games.
They had plenty of the ball, but, with Eriksen on the bench, had no way of breaking down a 10-man Newcastle wall and it was the visitors who instead found gaping holes at the other end.
One of them should have led to an opener but Sean Longstaff opted to shoot when he had two men free in the box and Hugo Lloris tipped over.
Spurs did not get away with the next one, though, and they fell behind in the 27th minute as Davinson Sanchez was caught playing the offside trap, allowing Joelinton to latch on to substitute Christian Atsu’s inch-perfect ball and rifle home his first goal for the club.
It was the third time Spurs have fallen behind this season and 10th in the last 12 games – an issue Pochettino will have to address.
Finding themselves a goal down against a side who came to defend led to an inevitable period of frustration as the hosts try to find a way back into the game.
Their best chance came in the 32nd minute as Kyle Walker-Peters did well down the right and stood a cross up for Son Heung-min, whose volley was well saved by Martin Dubravka while Lucas Moura spurned a good chance with the final kick of the first half, putting a shot wide from Kane’s cross.
The second half did not get much better as Newcastle remained compact and defended bravely and Spurs found it impossible to create any danger.
For the second home game in a row, Pochettino turned to Eriksen to try and unlock the door, but even the Dane could not make a difference.
In the end, they were looking for another intervention from VAR after Kane was felled, but it upheld Mike Dean’s decision in a moment that will surely bring more focus on the system.
As it was, Spurs should have taken a point, but Moura blazed Moussa Sissoko’s cross over as they suffered a second Premier League defeat at their new home.
Click Here: NRL Telstra Premiership