Dwight Gayle earned the praise of boss Rafael Benitez after his second-half brace secured a 2-0 win for Newcastle at Barnsley and sent them to the top of the Sky Bet Championship.
Gayle took his tally for the season to 11 and secured the Magpies a fifth away win of the campaign in front of nearly 6,000 travelling fans.
The striker's contribution pleased his manager, who said: "When you have players as clinical as Dwight, you will score goals.
"The team played well and created chances. His job is to be there, fighting with the centre-back and try to score if he gets a chance. He is on fire now, he is happy and we're all happy.
"I made it our priority in the summer to get him and Matt Ritchie to the club."