Resilient Newcastle please Pardew

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew was happy with his side’s resilience in their 2-0 win over Blackburn on Wednesday.

Pardew’s side withstood several Blackburn attacks, while Tim Krul saved a David Dunn penalty to keep Rovers scoreless.

At the other end of the pitch, a freak Scott Dann own goal and Gabriel Obertan’s injury time strike was enough to give Newcastle a valuable win on the road that lifts them to fifth on the English Premier League table, above Liverpool and Arsenal.

“With the loss of (Yohan) Cabaye (due to suspension) this morning and so many key players out, I think we knew coming here it was going to be very difficult,” Pardew said.

“We talked about it before the start of the game, to be resilient and strong. Blackburn put everything in your box.”

“We had to be strong and we were, but we had some fortune in the game, something I didn’t think we got at Brighton, and sometimes that can make a difference.”

Blackburn manager Steve Kean bemoaned his side’s ability to convert their numerous chances after the defeat left Rovers mired in the relegation zone.

“I think we had enough chances to win three games, never mind one,” Kean said.

“We didn’t start the game well, but after the deflected goal we controlled the last 30 minutes of the first half.”

“In that respect we were happy, we just felt we snatched at a few chances and didn’t show enough composure in front of goal.”

“We’ve just got to take that one on the chin, sometimes the performance and chances don’t always equal a result.”

“If you go on chances, possession and the stats which normally equal goals it was a very frustrating night. We’ve done enough tonight to get something from the game.”

Blackburn remain 18th on the table, two points below the 17th-placed Bolton.