Clarence Acuna, Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy punished Tottenham's sloppy defence as Newcastle came from behind to win in London for the second successive occasion.

Spurs appeared to be coasting after Steffen Iversen slammed home a 16th-minute opener.

Newcastle, badly missing injured midfield trio Kieron Dyer, Gary Speed and Rob Lee, had no answer to Tottenham's slick passing moves and further goals seemed destined to follow.

But in a remarkable turn-about of events, Spurs went to sleep in the second half and gifted their visitors three goals.

Up until six weeks ago, Newcastle hated travelling to the capital, and had failed to win in London in 29 attempts.

But they put that right at the 30th time of asking when they went to Highbury and won 3-1.

They made it two out of two as they showed great fighting spirit to beat in-form Spurs by the same scoreline.

In contrast, Spurs failed to live up to the high expectations of their fans, who now expect miracles every match following last week's 5-1 Worthington Cup romp against Chelsea.

It had all started so well as Iversen scored for the second successive game to give Spurs a deserved lead.

The Norwegian international striker, again deputising for injured Les Ferdinand, struck from close range.

Darren Anderton's right wing corner fell to Ledley King, and his shot across the face of goal was cleared by Nol Solano. The loose ball fell nicely for Iversen who rammed it inside the near post.

Spurs had their first scare of the night after 31 minutes when Richards sent a header back towards goalkeeper Neil Sullivan.

Toon striker Bellamy, whose pace troubled Spurs all night, had anticipated the back-pass and Sullivan ended up saving with his legs.

Richards had a great chance to earn a mention for the right reasons as he rushed in to meet another Anderton right-wing corner after 38 minutes. But he somehow scooped his shot over the bar from five yards.

It was not proving to be the big defender's night, as a minute later he was booked for a foul on Bellamy.

Newcastle needed some inspiration and manager Bobby Robson made an adventurous half-time substitution, bringing on French winger Lauren Robert for defender Robbie Elliott.

Spurs were caught napping after 65 minutes and Richards was lucky to avoid a second yellow card for pulling back Bellamy as he raced down the right flank to the byeline.

But Newcastle were celebrating anyway within seconds, as Robert's free kick was met by little Acuna, who rose unchallenged at the far post to head the equaliser.

In a remarkable turn-about, Newcastle took the lead after 69 minutes. Bellamy this time found space on the left and delivered a great low cross which Shearer pounced on to tuck home at the far post.

Spurs did not learn from their mistakes, and after 77 minutes Aaron Hughes crossed low from the right and man-of-the-match Bellamy slid in to seal the three points.

Spurs tried to salvage something but could not find a way past Shay Given, and Newcastle picked up their first win at Tottenham since September 1996 - when both their goals in that 2-1 victory were scored by Les Ferdinand.

Teams:

Tottenham: Sullivan, Perry, King, Richards, Davies (Etherington 70), Anderton, Sherwood, Poyet (Leonhardsen 87), Taricco, Sheringham (Rebrov 86), Iversen.

Subs Not Used: Kelly, Thelwell.

Booked: Richards.

Goals: Iversen 17.

Newcastle: Given, O'Brien, Elliott (Robert 46), Dabizas, Distin, Solano, Acuna, Hughes, McClen, Shearer, Bellamy.

Subs Not Used: Barton, Harper, Ameobi, Kerr.

Booked: Distin.

Goals: Acuna 67, Shearer 69, Bellamy 78.

Att: 35,798

Ref: M Dean (The Wirral).