Goals from Lovenkrands and Fabrice Pancrate were enough to send Newcastle United four points clear of second placed West Brom. Even though Kevin Nolan received his marching orders for a second bookable offence, the Toon now extend their unbeaten to eleven games (in all competitions).

When Newcastle were relegated, many pundits and fans of opposing clubs warned us that the Coca Cola Championship would be a difficult league to get out of. Well, I’m sorry to say that this league is becoming a bit of a cakewalk. It’s definitely not the huge physical scrap we’d thought it be, and we can undo many of the teams we play because of the quality we have. Make no mistake, we deserved to be relegated but quite clearly the players that we have are a step above other Championship players.

On-loan signing Marlon Harewood retained his spot in the starting lineup and managed to play his part in the Toon’s opening goal. Harewood chased down a backpass played by Craig Cathcart to his goalkeeper and played the ball across to Peter Lovenkrands who just had to slot it into an empty net.

Kevin Nolan’s harsh sending off reduced Newcastle to 10 men and Watford managed to put some pressure on the Toon’s backline. However, Watford didn’t make their pressure count as they lacked the extra quality to open Newcastle up. On came Nicky Butt to aid in defence and Fabrice Pancrate made an appearance in the 83rd minute. The Frenchman’s impact was almost instantaneous after holding the ball up in the box, managed to turn two Watford defenders and fire in an unstoppable shot past Scott Loach. Fabrice Pancrate’s goal was Newcastle’s second and finally made sure that Newcastle  held onto the victory.

Even though it’s great to be sitting here talking about the goals we’ve scored, we have to give credit where credit’s due. That’s another clean sheet for us with a total of 11 all season, and the Newcastle United defence can all be proud of the work they’ve put in over the past few months (I never thought I’d be saying that!). The record speaks for itself, the Toon have the best defensive record in the league.

Another three points, another home victory and we’re certainly in good form right now. It’s going to be difficult to see us not winning the Championship. We’re 10 points clear of third place and looking good to go straight back up to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Swansea came into yesterday’s game on the end of an eleven game unbeaten run thanks to one of the league’s most stingiest defences. NUFC meanwhile, were looking to cement their place at the top of the Coca Cola Championship.

A crowd of 42,616, were in attendance as the St. James’s faithful showed some of the Premier League big boys just how much they love their club.

The Toon managed to get off to a great start and the game was all but over as a contest thanks to headed goals from Marlon Harewood with Peter Lovenkrands also getting on the scoresheet. Some lapse defending allowed Harewood to get in and score, and then a cross by Jonas (finally) saw Lovenkrands score from close range. Not satisfied with two, Newcastle went for a third and Harewood again was there with the finish.

Cedric van der Gun and Andrea Orlandi did have attempts at goal for Swansea though as ‘Keeper Steve Harper was called into action to produce some important saves. Harper was replaced at half-time by Tim Krul after still complaining about a back injury.

Swansea came into it and enjoyed the majority of the possession. Danny Simpson made sure that Newcastle came away with a clean sheet after heading off the line. Swansea seemed incapable of producing the quality in the final third and just couldn’t manage to get past the Newcastle defence.

Another three points and we further extend the space between us and third place to eight points. Watford at home are up next and we’ll look to keep the run going. The league is definitely starting to take shape as ourselves and West Brom look clear favourites to get promoted at the first time of asking.

As voices of discontent gathered at the back of the Milburn stand before the game, they were equally as vociferous in their support for their team once they got inside the ground. The second largest attendance of the day (43,067) certainly made their feelings known.

The Newcastle fans had something to shout about other than the owner as Jonas Gutierrez ran from the halfway, and finished with a shot that went past ‘Keeper Joe Lewis. The shot took a deflection but it’s thought that Jonas will be given credit for the goal (please dubious goals panel?).

NUFC kept up the pressure as the fans bayed for blood and they got what they were looking for when Andy Carroll headed in a Danny Guthrie corner. Newcastle went in 2-0 up at the half and continued in similar fashion in the second-half thanks to a quality strike from Danny Simpson. Simpson, on loan from Manchester United, cut in from the right and hit a shot that ended up in the top corner.

Peterboro managed to claw one back on the 80th minute with Dean Keats finding the back of the net with a close range finish. It was too little too soon though as Newcastle United took all three points and maintained their top of the table position. The Toon are clear at the top of the Coca Cola Championship by two points, and six points clear of the teams in a play-off position.

No points however were given to the Toon stewards as they made Newcastle fans who unfurled anti-Ashley banners take them down. I don’t know about anyone else, but freedom of speech is a right – just not at St James’s Park, apparently.