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Newcastle steel keeps race open

NOT everything in black and white makes sense, say the Guinness advertisements in Newcastle United's programme.

But yesterday those mercurial men in monochrome stripes made all they sense they needed at an exultant St James' Park.

Less creative but more obdurate defensively, Newcastle deservedly overcame Aston Villa through Les Ferdinand's second-half header to move within three points of Manchester United, the Premiership leaders.

'One-nil to the Newcastle' is a rare chant indeed. Newcastle, with their first clean sheet for five games, found the right balance between all-out attack and tight defending.

The stars of the show were David Batty, a spike-haired buffer which Villa's midfielders kept running into, and the two full-backs, Steve Watson and Robbie Elliott.

Darren Peacock and Philippe Albert coped commendably with Savo Milosevic and Dwight Yorke but the most impressive show of defiance came out wide.

Full-back frailty has troubled Newcastle all season but Watson and Elliott, who replaced the lippy John Beresford midway through the first half, ensured that the Villa wing -backs were unable to gallop effectively down their normal fertile furrows.

Beresford's departure certainly showed who was in charge at St James' Park, a very public reminder of Kevin Keegan's self-belief and authority. Beresford had been experiencing problems against the excellent Gary Charles but his withdrawal owed little to tactics, and all to back-chat.

Talking back is unwise to any manager sitting among substitutes eager to get on. To Keegan a man who demands and bestows loyalty in equal measure it proved too much. Having seen his errant left-back clear a Charles centre straight to the momentarily wasteful Yorke, Keegan made his unease abundantly clear.

A brief flurry of words ensued. Keegan winning the argument by telling Elliott to warm up. Beresford, head shaking, was soon replaced in a situation rarely witnessed in football. "It was a difference of opinion," Keegan said. "It's forgotten. It won't be held against him. He's a gutsy little player. He just overstepped the mark. I gave him some instructions about what he was doing wrong and I didn't like the answer I got back."

Suddenly those nerves were showing, a manager and employee disagreeing and the player having the temerity to answer back. Keegan's swift action ended the doubts, as did Elliott's confident performance at left-back.

While living dangerously in two-on-twos at the back, Keegan's players gradually turned up the pace in a crescendo of attacks towards half-time, only to be thwarted by the enduring excellence of Paul McGrath, who gave a towering performance, and Mark Bosnich, when all seemed lost for Villa.

The Australian goalkeeper showed he possessed speed of body as well as mind by sprinting from his line to beat Ferdinand to Watson's long pass. Bosnich also darted forth to reach the ball before the onrushing Faustino Asprilla, then rescued Villa with a magnificent save from Robert Lee's drive.

The theme of gradual Newcastle supremacy grew after the break. Batty struck a lovely shot but to no avail. Bosnich then dropped a David Ginola curler only to recover on the line.

The heat was on. Villa, with Mark Draper showing some deft touches, had their chances. Milosevic wasted a marvellous 63rd-minute opportunity, following a rare mistake from Lee. Yorke played the ambling Serb through but his shot flew embarrassingly wide. Such profligacy was promptly punished.

Newcastle combining at bewildering speed down the right. Watson, Batty and Lee linked sweetly to send Beardsley scampering into the box. Having eluded Alan Wright, Beardsley's cross was perfect, rising to head height just feet from the near post. Ferdinand needed no further invitation, beating Ugo Ehiogu to score his 28th goal in 40 appearances.

To confirm Newcastle's new-found defensive security and keep the title race alive, even Ginola came back to execute a vital interception as Ehiogu threatened an equaliser.

The final whistle precipitated scenes of near hysteria, the belief flooding back that the leaders could be caught, that Tyneside's dream was alive. "we've got four games left and we've got to win them all," Batty said. "We can't expect any more slip-ups from Manchester United."

"It was a gutsy performance," said Keegan. "Villa are a very attractive side and they'll be up with the big boys next year. But we had a will to win, a bit more to play for and that helped us edge our way to victory. "I take my hat off to the players because a lot of them struggled but they kept at it and dragged us to the win."