Newcastle 2 Chelsea 1

Last updated : 01 March 2003 By Footymad Previewer

Newcastle moved level on points with second placed Manchester United after a hard fought win over their bogey side Chelsea.

That victory saw them open a seven-point gap above fourth place Chelsea, with Newcastle finding an unlikely second-half match-winner in French defender Olivier Bernard.

The victory ended an unwanted sequence by Newcastle who had gone 11 matches without a win over the Stamford Bridge outfit.

It also ended Sir Bobby Robson's record of Chelsea being the only side he had never managed a win against since taking over at St James' Park - and that included a FA Cup semi-final defeat at Wembley.

Both sides started off by stifling each other in what was a poor first half.

Hugo Viana wasted a good first minute chance for United when he got on the end of Craig Bellamy's right-wing cross only to lift his shot over the bar.

Eidur Gudjohnsen, so often the thorn in the side of Newcastle, showed his intentions four minutes later when volleying across the face of the goal from the tightest of angles.

Shay Given then had to be alert when heading clear to keep out the prowling Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

The deadlock was broken just after the half-hour mark with the unlucky Hasselbaink putting through his own goal.

A corner saw Nolberto Solano cross to the near post where Hasselbaink attempting to head clear, only headed firmly into his own net.

The goal only served to push Chelsea forward, and Gudjohnsen almost drew the sides level when finding himself clear inside the box but Given got his angles right and blocked the shot.

However, Chelsea were level on 36 minutes when Given flapped at Hasselbaink's right-wing corner and Aaron Hughes' header dropped invitingly to Frank Lampard on the edge of the box to volley into the net with style.

Chelsea finished the stronger and Jesper Gronkjaer raced clear only to see his shot beaten away by Given.

There was much more urgency from Newcastle in the second half and Craig Bellamy wasted an early chance when volleying straight at Cudicini from just eight yards.

The all important match winner came on 53 minutes when a delightful throughball from Viana let in the overlapping Bernard to coolly lift the ball over Cudicini for his second goal of the season.