cracking start to the festive period

On the fifth day of Christmas the Toon Army asked me, "can we have three points and plenty of goals please?"

Well the attendance of 43,050 got that, plus more as West Brom dropped points it meant that Newcastle have opened up a four point lead at the top of the table and are 10 points clear of third placed Nottingham Forest.

The new deadly duo of Marlon Harewood and Peter Lovenkrands worked the opening for United, with the latter tapping in from close range following a poor back pass from Watford defender Craig Cathcart.

Things weren't always going Newcastle's way though when midfielder Kevin Nolan was sent off for collecting two yellow cards early in the second half. This gave Watford belief in pushing on for an equaliser. They created a number of good chances but the black and white defence stood firm to claim their 11th clean sheet so far this season.

It's this sort of strength and determination in defence which is the foundation that United have built their season upon and that should lead them to promotion. With a near enough fully fit squad, the Geordies had a lot of options from the bench to help determine the games outcome.

The substitutions against Watford all played a part, Andy Carroll offered direction and enthusiasm upfront, a physical presence to keep a hold of the ball, whilst Nicky Butt provided more protection for the defence as he used his experience to help steady the ship from Nolan's sending off. Then there is new boy Fabrice Pancrate, his pace and trickery made sure that Watford were open to the counter attack, and boy did it work. Pancrate ensured the win in the 83rd minute when he turned two Watford defenders in the box and unleashed a ferocious shot in to the roof of the net.

It was a cracking strike, it proved why Chris Hughton took a gamble and signed the Frenchman. Hughton has received constant praise this term for guiding Newcastle to the top, he picked up the November manager of the month award, his third so far. With signings and substitutions like that I can see him winning many more awards over the next couple of months.