Michael Ball's 18th-minute penalty was enough to give Everton their first
Premiership win at home since April.
The defender clinched all three points from the spot after Don Hutchison had
been felled by Carl Serrant with the visitors' defence at sixes and sevens.
But his side were forced to endure a late onslaught from Newcastle as they
finally warmed to their task.
In truth, neither team looked likely to run away with a game which was high on
passion but desperately short on quality.
Everton were always the more incisive side, although Newcastle's Keith
Gillespie gave Ball a torrid night but failed to deliver the kind of service his
team-mates needed to drag themselves back into the game.
Magpies boss Ruud Gullit changed both his system and personnel as he tried to
rescue a point, but while the effort was there, the guile was not.
Everton went into the game having scored just once at home in the league all
season, while Newcastle had not registered away from home since the 5-1
demolition of Coventry City on September 19 - and it was not difficult to see
why.
Despite the absence of the suspended Duncan Ferguson, the home side opted for
a long ball approach, which paid some dividends as the visitors failed to get to
grips with Ivory Coast striker Ibrahima Bakayoko and lightning-quick partner
Danny Cadamarteri.
Hesitancy in the Newcastle defence served to make their task even more
difficult, with Nicos Dabizas and Laurent Charvet looking distinctly
unconvincing in the early stages.
They were not helped by their lightweight strike-force of Paul Dalglish and
Andreas Andersson, who were unable to hold on to the ball until the support
arrived.
But it was in central midfield that much of the damage was done, with David
Batty and Rob Lee failing to get to grips with Hutchison and Tony Grant.
It was former Liverpool player Hutchison who provided the decisive moment of
the first half when he competed well for a high ball and charged into the box to
be scythed down by Serrent.
Referee Neale Barry immediately pointed to the spot, and Ball rammed his kick
past the helpless Given to give Walter Smith's side a deserved lead.
While the flow of the game was fairly even, it was Everton who made the better
use of their possession and they could have put the result beyond any reasonable
doubt on the half-hour.
First Given pulled off a fine point-blank save from Bakayoko after he had
muscled Laurent Charvet off the ball, and then the African glanced a diving
header just wide from Hutchison's cross after Serrant's pass had been
intercepted.
Gullit withdrew Serrant at the break in favour of Belgian Philippe Albert, who
slotted into a reshaped three-man defence.
The visitors looked more solid as Everton appeared content to sit behind the
ball and defend deep.
That handed Newcastle the initiative, and Gillespie in particular became an
increasing threat.
However, his side simply could not force their way through a defence which,
although under pressure, was never stretched to its limits.
The introduction of Garry Brady in place of Dalglish with 61 minutes gone gave
United a fresh pair of legs but it was the arrival of German midfielder Dietmar
Hamann eight minutes later which gave them renewed impetus.
Lee had wasted a good shooting opportunity when he miskicked on 74 minutes
when, seconds later, his side were awarded a free-kick 30 yards out.
Hamann fired a shot on goal which Thomas Myhre did well to keep out down by
his right post.
Veteran defender Dave Watson had a chance to seal the win 13 minutes from time
but his close range effort was blocked by a tangle of bodies.
Despite a wealth of possession, Newcastle simply could not make the pressure
tell and they have now gone five games without a win.
Teams
Everton: Myhre, Ball, Watson, Unsworth, Collins, Hutchison,
Short, Grant, Bakayoko (Milligan 88), Dunne,
Cadamarteri (Jeffers 90).
Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Cleland, Bilic.
Booked: Dunne, Cadamarteri.
Goals: Ball 18 pen.
Newcastle: Given, Barton (Hamann 69), Serrant (Albert 45), Batty,
Charvet, Dabizas, Lee, Gillespie, Andersson, Dalglish (Brady 61),
Speed.
Subs Not Used: Harper, Solano.
Booked: Barton, Serrant, Lee, Charvet.
Att: 30,357
Ref: N Barry (Scunthorpe).
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