30 mins Santon's throw in to Guthrie down the United left saw the latter come away from the corner flag to evade Ireland and then head back infield before sending over a right-footed chip that Dunne got ahead of Ba to flick across the box.

Presumably his intention had been to set up Warnock for the clearance, but the loose ball bounced in front of him and saw Ryan Taylor reach it fractionally ahead of the Villa defender. As Taylor tried to shoot right-footed towards goal, Warnock advanced and sent him cartwheeling into the air.

The ball however has squeezed across the six yard box and fell to Demba Ba, who controlled it with a touch of his right boot before forcing it home with a low right footed effort from six yards at the Leazes End. 1-0

45+5 mins Jonas Gutierrez cheaply gave away possession when attempting to squirm away from three Villa players on the touchline adjacent to the home dugout. Petrov picked out Keane with a dipping forward pass on the edge of the box and he turned away from Coloccini before finding N'Zogbia lurking out on the left flank.

With Williamson caught between shadowing Bent and Keane as both made their way into the middle, N'Zogbia found space between Coloccini and Simpson to centre for Robbie Keane to side foot home from close range 1-1

Half time: Magpies 1 Villans 1

71 mins A left wing cross from Jonas was left by Ba, bounced over the outstretched left foot of Dunne and dropped to Papiss Cisse. Controlling the ball on his chest, the debutant allowed the ball to bounce and then thumped a sublime left-footed drive into the top corner of the Gallowgate goal for a dream start to life in the famous shirt, sighted again after a year's absence. That's his weaker foot, apparently. 2-1

Full time: Magpies 2 Villans 1

Alan Pardew commented:

"We mustn't get carried from the team ethic we have got here because the guys did brilliantly to get a result at Blackburn in the week and again we have put in a display here that has been strong.

"(James) Perch in midfield was brilliant. We had no Cheick (Tiote) today, no (Yohan) Cabaye, but we keep winning. That's a great thing.

"Having said that, you still need great players because they change games. Papiss did that today and Demba has done it for us before. It was a real bonus that he got a goal on his debut.

"Papiss has got that ability to turn with his first touch, and Demba's got that too. They can get at back fours as soon as the ball is played into them.

"They are a dangerous pair. We have got dangerous strikers all over the place here because Shola and Besty have done well, Lovenkrands is there as well and Ben Arfa, so we have got firepower. We just need to make sure that we have enough quality, enough composure and enough control of the game - which we did second half.

"It was a good win because Villa came here and looked lively. They looked lively first half. Although they scored just before half-time, they deserved to be level. They deserved to be in the lead at half-time.

"We accepted that and second half we knew we had to be better and more controlled, and we were. We limited their breakaways on us and we got a bit of pressure building. Of course we got a dream goal for us, because he's a new signing and he wanted to do well. It was a fantastic goal.

"He (Cisse) looked a threat and his goal was something special - it lifted the roof off the place. It really was a great hit and I didn’t think it was too bad for his weak foot. If you are going to wear that number 9 shirt at Newcastle you need a good start and he has had that.

"It's Boy’s Own Annual stuff that goal but his all-round performance would have had any Newcastle fan nudging his mate thinking we have got a good one here."Papiss Cisse is the right age for that Number 9 jersey. He has Bundesliga experience. He is a good player. And I thought he showed that in his first moments. His first touch was a turn.

"Scoring a goal like that will really help him settle down and after the game he did his interview and shook everyone’s hands Those little moments are nice. He is a genuine guy. This is a guy who just wants to do well for Newcastle. He hasn’t come here with any other agenda than to do well for us and he has had a great start. I didn’t want to bring him on that early.

"In my career I have been lucky with strikers on debuts and so I am really pleased because it is a big investment for the club. Although Mike Ashley sanctioned it and he is the owner I have got to spend the fans' money here. I like to spend it well we have taken our time and I would like to think we have got it right.

"Demba and Papiss have been in Africa travelling around and had three disappointing games and then a long flight back and I didn’t think they would be fresh enough to put in the performances in that they have today so I am delighted with that.

"People are under a misconception that they are a partnership that has formed. They have hardly ever played together but they are going to complement each other well because Papiss wants to go in behind and Demba wants to come short so you have a nice balance there.

"We are missing some players in a key area in Yohan Cabaye and Cheik Tiote and you would think their absence would hurt us against a Villa side that were good today. They were really sharp and caused us a lot of problems and got what they deserved at half-time."We can go to Tottenham and let our hair down. We will have a go and if we get beat, we get beat."

Papiss Demba Cisse conducted media interviews in French after the game (with old boy Olivier Bernard acting as his interpreter). Our new number 9 wore a Northern Rock tracksuit top - old skool? or no new Virgin branded stock?

"The aim from now is to keep working hard in training. If I do that I would like to think that I can get more goals like that. Firstly, I have to work hard and get to know my team-mates. 

"I'm happy with my first goal, but I have a lot of thank yous to give out. Firstly the club for signing me, my team-mates and to all of the fans who made it so memorable. 

"When I signed for the club, to score in my first game was one of my aims. To do that is fantastic. I thank God for that." 

Big Eck said (after others said Feck):

"The opposition have a great work ethic – the whole lot of them – they put the ball in the box and flood it. That was the reason for their first goal. I don’t think it’s rocket science. They get results because of a fantastic team work ethic.

“We could be where Newcastle could be. The difference with us is too many draws. They have turned those into wins. There are certain parts of our squad who are still learning and a little bit unused to doing certain jobs that I am now asking them to do. I just cite Newcastle as a great example of what I am trying to do with the team.

It’s a kick in the teeth - I thought we were well worth a point, if not all three. In the first half we were especially good, we kind of controlled the game, so to go behind was pretty awful to bear, but we got back in at half-time and started the second half slow as well and then looked livelier before they scored.

“It was disappointing, the goals themselves.We didn’t get the tackle in to stop the crosses. This is a must when you’re playing in Aston Villa colours. We have to stop these crosses coming in. We must engage with the opposition winger or full-back or whoever is in there, and then we don’t deal with the ball coming into the box.

On the substitution of Stephen Ireland, who had earlier told his manager to go forth and multiply:

"I never saw the eff-off thing - I know he spoke back but, at the same time, players don't like to hear the manager screaming at them from the touchline. I kick every ball. I'm passionate and I care. I wouldn't be so petty to take a player off for something like that if he is doing a fantastic job.

"I don’t even know why you (the media) want to elaborate on it. It’s trivial. If you want to look at everyone’s lip-reading, I am sure you’ll get a few more and you can get another story. It’s trivial. It’s a trivial question. I think it’s a ridiculous question.

“Stevie had an ankle problem and wasn’t able to close down. Danny Guthrie sidestepped him to put the cross in. I thought it was too easy and Stevie should of been making that tackle or at least putting a block on the cross.

“It was clear at half-time that he didn’t have capacity to get close to people. His touch was still great at certain moments, but at this level in the Barclays Premier League you need players with legs and energy.

On his decision to withdraw N'Zogbia:

"I just felt that the space between Newcastle’s right side that Gabriel Obertan was getting on the ball too easily and was able to run at the back four without any doubling up. I felt Charles was just isolating Stephen Warnock a little bit. I needed the gap filled.”