Premier League: Wigan 0 Newcastle 1

Shola Ameobi grabbed the only goal of the game as Newcastle beat Wigan 1-0 to surge into the top half of the Premier League.

The Magpies do not have a great record in this fixture, but grabbed all three points when the striker followed up to finish from close range after Joey Barton’s shot was parried by Ali Al Habsi and Peter Lovenkrands struck the rebound against the far post.Newcastle could have been ahead with barely a minute on the clock, when Danny Simpson’s right-wing cross was somehow headed over by Ameobi from point-blank range.On-loan Tom Cleverley, with his Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson watching on from the directors’ box, then shot wide and over the bar from good positions as Wigan looked for the all-important opener.

The home side, unbeaten since the end of November, were rocked when Newcastle took the lead, but they did at least mount a decent response.Captain Gary Caldwell headed Ben Watson’s corner against the bar, with Hugo Rodallega unable to keep the follow-up down and sending it into the Toon Army behind Steve Harper’s goal.Newcastle almost made it two when Barton’s corner found Fabricio Coloccini totally unmarked only for his header to hit the bar and bounce over.And Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi then had to act smartly to smother a shot from Jonas Gutierrez as Newcastle ended the first half on top.Wigan sent on James McArthur and Mauro Boselli for Hendry Thomas and Jordi Gomez, but the visitors were continuing to edge an increasingly scrappy game.It was nearly game over midway through the second half when a Barton free-kick was headed against the bar by Steven Taylor, who was fortunate not to concede a late penalty when he appeared to handle a shot from Boselli.