Full time: Newcastle 1 Everton 1

Graeme Souness said:

"We played extremely well, created good chances and we'd have got three points if the ref had done his job. We had enough chances to win two games. We defended well and played some really good football in midfield.

"Some of the striking play was excellent too and on another day we would have won that game handsomely. There's a saying that the harder you work, the luckier you get - and they worked extremely hard.

"They did well to stay in the game and scored a wonderful free-kick but we had them on the back foot for most of the game."

About the non-award of the penalty: 

"How the referee does not give it I don't know. You should get him in here and ask him the question, as I can't tell why he has not given it after several replays.

"I can see if from 50 yards away, so how can he not see it?"

"I thought our football was fantastic, we created a load of chances to win the game, but the referee has let us down.

"When we have that much pressure in and around the box, creating things, how Dyer's is not a penalty is beyond me. The referee can answer that for you."

"On another day we would have ran out easy winners as we did create things and cut them up at times, but they rode their luck and all credit to them for the amount of effort they put in."

David Moyes said:

"Newcastle put us under immense pressure but the lads at the back and the keeper dug in."

"We've been to some top sides and got good results. We knew that if we kept ourselves in the game we had a chance. We're making sure we don't lose games, which in turn helps us to win games. The boys are ecstatic and 30 points from 15 games is a great return."

About the penalty claims:

"I'm sure when everyone watches it they will see that Dyer kicked Kilbane's leg and, for me, Cahill's was a definite push and more of a penalty,"

300th start in a Newcastle strip for Shay Given in all competitions (301st appearance counting his single outing from the subs bench.)

Fourth Newcastle appearance for Steven Taylor, second start and first outing at St.James' Park.

Injuries saw Shearer, Butt, Carr, O'Brien, Elliott and Johnsen sidelined.

Craig Bellamy netted his third goal in as many consecutive games and is now one behind top scorer Alan Shearer - the number nine has ten, while the number ten has nine - the same total as he managed in the whole of last season and also in 2002/03. His record haul for the Magpies came in 2001/02 when he managed 14. 

Everton's away form in the Premiership continues to be admirable: one defeat in eight, five wins and only five goals conceded with four clean sheets kept. That compares to our two wins, three draws and three losses, with twelve goals let in and a solitary clean sheet. 

Tempting though it is, we'll take a different path to the manager on this one and draw a discreet veil over the antics of the man laughingly referred to in the match programme as the referee. 

We know Barry was awful, but a quick peek at the post-match comments of Souness in the seven matches we've failed to win since he joined us shows an anti-ref rant count of six - while the relentlessly cheerful stance of the manager when praising his boys is starting to be worryingly reminiscent of Dalgish's pronouncements. 

Tempting though it is to indulge in it, slagging off the officials every week is counter -productive in the long run, feeding the persecution complex of supporters as it does and lessening the impact of a manager's reaction to a genuinely awful display of refereeing. 

But once the anger subsides and heartbeats return to something their normal rate, the stark facts are that we've now failed to win any of our last four home matches. 

But while we've seen the superior talents of Manchester United and Chelsea leave with victories in that run, since the start of the season we've failed to overcome Fulham, Norwich, Spurs - none of whom have presented massive obstacles to other sides on their travels.

We may be enjoying our latest European foray (well at least those of us interested enough to turn up) but quite simply, our inability to turn no points into one and one into three against average Premiership sides will cost us the chance to sample overseas delights next season. 

That is unless we come home from Lisbon next May clutching something with ribbons on it....or we make a bid for the Intertoto Cup, which presumably wouldn't sit very well with our pre-season globetrotting plans.

Typically for Newcastle, we managed to compensate for the absence of six first-teamers by playing some good stuff in this match, with further evidence of Bellamy's resurgence coming with his third well-taken in goal in as many games since unshackled from a wide role.

Unfortunately we proved incapable of building on our early advantage, despite denying Everton access to our penalty area for virtually the whole of the opening 45 minutes.

Chances were created, with Jenas and Bellamy striking the woodwork, Dyer making one surging run but failing to pass or shoot before he ran out of pitch and Kluivert seeing one shot cleared off the line and another good opportunity balloon into the Gallowgate End.

But ultimately it just wasn't enough and the unattractive but confident visitors made the most of their chance in front of goal and thereafter provided enough of a solid block in defence to highlight our lack of imagination.

Time after time Dyer dithered on the ball as runners failed to materialise between him and the goal, with Jenas dropping into a deeper role to compensate for the absent Butt and Bowyer simply getting in the way.

By rights this should have been a perfect stage for Robert, but the fancy dance steps seen at Selhurst and Sochaux were replaced by more of a slouch today, as he seemed incapable of going wide to beat his man. 

And with a lack of width on the right and Kluivert again dropping back to stay away from the front line (isolating Bellamy as a consequence), at times we looked like playing in a 4-5-1 formation. The Dutchman may have served up a couple of wonderful touches, but his work rate just isn't compatible with our status and situation - quite simply he's a luxury on days like this.

So, another competent but unspectacular side frustrated us and highlighted some of our shortcomings. That's happening too often for us to genuinely believe that we are unlucky of being unfairly served by officialdom - we're just not as good as we think we are. Flat track bullies and efficient dispatchers of rubbish yes, but anything more than that is wishful thinking.

And if next week's impending torture yields anything more than a defeat, then the queue for Fenwick's window will stretch from the doors of the Central Station by 9pm next Saturday - and it won't be Xmas decorations on display.

Another game nearer the end of the year then and another ninety minutes nearer to the transfer window. Our seesaw form shows no sign of altering though, as allegedly inferior opponents disappear over the hill and we find ourselves nearer the bottom than the top in terms of points. 

Canny performance, shame about the result.  

Biffa

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