Newcastle suffer sixth straight defeat to Tottenham

Harry Kane sealed a 3-1 victory for Tottenham over Newcastle with his 30th goal of the season in all competitions.

Nacer Chadli had opened the scoring in the first half with a low, left-foot strike but an equaliser from Jack Colback just seconds after half-time offered Newcastle some hope.

However, an inswinging Christian Eriksen free-kick and Kane’s goal in added time were enough to inflict a sixth successive League defeat on Newcastle.

The game was more notable for the off-field events as thousands of Newcastle fans chose to boycott the fixture in protest against owner Mike Ashley. Pockets of empty seat could be seen all around St James’ Park.

Spurs are now up to sixth and are level on points with Liverpool, who have a game on hand.

6’ - NEWCASTLE CHANCE! Decent early pressure from Colback on the left hand side. He tries to seek out Ayoze Perez - the Newcastle striker who is looking for his first goal of 2015.

16’ - FLYOVER! All sorts of off-field antics going on today. Sunderland fans have flown a plane over St James' with a banner that reads "5 in a row".

30’ - GOAL! Newcastle 0-1 Tottenham. Chadli, who has been quiet so far, picks up the ball inside the Newcastle half, cuts inside and shoots across Tim Krul to open the scoring from long range.

46’ - GOAL! Newcastle 1-1 Tottenham. Instant impact for Carver's subs as Colback slots home from close range after good work from Ameobi. Newcastle level within 22 seconds.

53’ - GOAL! Newcastle 1-2 Tottenham. Eriksen whips in the freekick but no one makes contact and it trickles in past Krul.

74’ - SPURS CHANCE! Big chance for Lamela to get on the scoresheet but his shot is saved by Krul after a neat through ball from Bentaleb.

90+1’ - GOAL! Newcastle 1-3 Tottenham. Newcastle are caught on the break and Kane dashes up the pitch to slot home past Krul. That's his 30th goal of the season in all competitions.

Harry Kane is the first player since Gary Linekar in 1991/92 to score 30+ goals in a single season for Spurs.

Christian Eriksen has scored his third direct free-kick goal this season, more than any other Premier League player.

Newcastle have conceded 12 times in the final ten minutes of matches this season - the most in the League.

What next for Newcastle's disgruntled fanbase? The game was a big moment for the "Mike Ashley Out" brigade who had organised a boycott to protest at his ownership and the club's sorry situation. However, with many fans still choosing to attend the game, it leaves question marks over how they should tackle the issue. As it happens, Ashley didn't turn up to the game either (and nor did the Newcastle team, many would argue).

Nacer Chadli (Tottenham Hotspur): Spurs certainly didn't need to be at their best today to get the three points but Chadli offered some glimpses of what an exciting player he can be. The Belgian opened the scoring on the half hour mark, with a well-taken strike from long-range. His powerful runs continued to cause problems for Newcastle throughout.

Newcastle: Krul 5, Janmaat 4, Williamson 5, Coloccini 5, Anita 5, Abeid 4, Taylor 5, Colback 6, Cabella 6, Perez 7, Gouffran 4. Subs: Obertan 5, Ameobi 6, Armstrong 5.

Tottenham: Vorm 6, Dier 6, Fazio 6, Vertonghen 6, Rose 6, Paulinho 7, Bentaleb 6, Lamela 5, Eriksen 7, Chadli 8, Kane 7. Subs: Dembele 6, Davies 5, Mason 5.