Alan Pardew was able to celebrate victory in his 100th game in charge of United, as his team won a game both managers had billed beforehand as a "Cup Final."

That cliché was as painful as it was predictable, but nevertheless this game had much riding on it and pre-match almost had the feel of a derby - the events of May 2009 on this ground making this a grudge match in the eyes of many black and white followers.

United's first away success of the season was ultimately secured by Yohan Cabaye's stunning strike, but only after an unbelievably nervous second half that will probably live as long in the memory as that fateful day here when we bade a (thankfully) temporary farewell to the top flight. 

There were four changes from the team beaten at home by Reading, with Steven Taylor returning after a ten league game absence. He partnered Fabricio Coloccini after his recent well-publicised travails while James Perch was preferred to Vurnon Anita in midfield. 

Both Sylvain Marveaux and Gabriel Obertan were omitted from the squad due to fitness issues, but our French contingent were in full effect nonetheless, with messrs Cabaye and Debuchy joined on the field by debutant duo Yoan Gouffran and Moussa Sissoko.

They both acquitted themselves well, with the latter a crucial presence in midfield and setting up our opener in a first half couldn't have gone much better for the Magpies. On the front foot right from the off, Villa were second best and looked every inch a side knocked out of two domestic cup competitions by lower league opposition in the previous week.  

Ex-mackem Darren Bent was so anonymous that his presence hardly registered with Newcastle fans, while the sole moment of discomfort came when our former Frenchman Charles N'Zogbia thumped an  effort that flew back off Tim Krul's post. 

A slick exchange of passes gave lone striker Papiss Cisse a chance that he gratefully gobbled up and then Cabaye's heat-seeker deservedly doubled our advantage; the same player also close to emulating his dead-ball strike against Reading from a free kick in a similar position.

However, despite Villa's well-known defensive weakness in the air, United's delivery from corners and free-kicks remained poor and over elaborate when Bradford City had amply demonstrated that a simple out-swinging ball could be attacked successfully, in the presence of the Newcastle boss.  

N'Zogbia was booked and then tripped Debuchy minutes later and as half time approached Gouffran hit a shot narrowly wide, Mike Dean calling time on a half that we didn't really want to end.

The second 45 however was a different story; Paul Lambert having managed to reshape and inspire his struggling side with a couple of substitutions and a more aggressive approach. That manifested itself in a string of fouls and bookings and greater pressure towards our box, with Krul making a couple of decent stops straight away before picking the ball out of his net after a penalty. 

With United again demonstrating their inability to serve up successive 45 minute chunks of good form we were seldom seen as a forward force and began to retreat further and sit deeper - giving Villa every encouragement to dominate, although they creating few genuine opportunities.

Desperate clearances from Coloccini and Taylor followed as attempts to clear our lines got ever more frantic and wasteful, with reinforcements from the bench desperately required. And although our eventual success in this game meant that the nature of our replacements was glossed over, concerns remained - and at the time were the subject of much conjecture, if not booing.

Jonas in particular looked to be running on empty out on the left, but the first change saw the combative James Perch make way for Shola Ameobi, who seemed not to have received the instruction to actually run around....

Now lacking a player prepared to go toe to toe with Villa, the pressure increased and Anita's arrival saw him replace the tiring Gouffran: perhaps a less contentious replacement than the equally fatigued Cabaye, given the negative reaction from the SJP crowd against Reading. 

In fairness, Sissoko was by now visibly wilting and our final replacement saw Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa introduced to English football in a central midfield role that did nothing to help him settle For Shola to be by then acting as a makeshift third central defender while Mapou wandered around in midfield in a daze, showed that we were well and truly in panic mode.

Before that replacement, Steven Taylor had actually come over to the bench and told our new no.13 to sit back down again after he was stripped and ready to replace the number 27 - who was by then routinely coming second best to Benteke as his lack of match fitness became more evident. 

That was an off-the-cuff, on the pitch decision that could have been calamitous and one that should have been made by those paid to do so. Thankfully it didn't matter, but....

Entering the closing stages, time seemed to stand still as Villa launched wave upon wave of attacks, although many elongated passes into the box were harmless and second balls invariably dropped to a black and white shirt. At this point, our hopes of victory were genuinely in the balance - with both Anita and Ameobi struggling with the pace despite only recently arriving.

A flick of the boot by Jonas on the line and then a vital tackle by makeshift midfielder Yanga-Mbiwa kept Krul's goal intact as captain Colo and his men threw themselves in the way of everything.

Both Debuchy and Cabaye were nursing knocks as the clock inched forward towards the 90 minute mark and then agonisingly through an additional five minutes (although in truth we'd wasted at least that) with Cabaye by now treading water as a static forward. 

Somehow though, United held out to secure a first away win of the season. And amid the inevitable relief and euphoria, banishing the memories of that relegation nightmare on this ground and at the same time dropping Villa deeper into the mire was cause for much celebration. The new arrivals certainly gave the side a boost but perhaps it was the decision of our captain to stay and fight, that was the difference between delight and despair, as he inspired his side to success.

Despite the positivity that this result engendered, our second half performance was as shambolic as it was heroic and while our French foreign legion was instrumental in the victory, their contribution could have been catastrophic.

Debuchy's ludicrous challenge on Agbonlahor for the penalty was worryingly unprofessional, given that Pardew's half-time rabble-rousing must have also hammered home the point about keeping things tight for 15 minutes, frustrating the home fans, giving them nothing to build on etc. etc.

It was also admitted by our manager that the "French lads tired" although that was a massive understatement as Gouffran and Sissoko were out on their feet well before their replacement. Both had played their part and "hit the ground running" but it'll be some time before they can run at Premier League pace for 90 minutes - with Dutchman Anita arguably still not there yet.

Pardew's contention that "they are not here to save us, they are here to help us" is crucial and Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Cisse, Obertan and Marveaux need to continue to translate the messages were given out pre-match by Steve Harper, Shola, Taylor and others. 

It's the "ancien regime" who need to do the jobs that messrs Owen, Viduka, Martins, Bassong, Duff and Geremi failed so badly to do last time, not the new lads. Anything they contribute is a bonus, with no less a craftsman than Thierry Henry taking the best part of a year to settle in this league.  

Quite how we got away with 45(+5) minutes of incredibly sloppy football is inexplicable but doing so probably made it a more memorable and glorious victory. It was scarily similar to the previous defeat at home to Reading but crucially, Villa had no Adam Le Fondre to take advantage.

Crucially, Cabaye's stunner had come in addition to a Cisse strike, unlike the Reading game where it had followed a series of misses from our number nine. We needed that cushion, as our second half display was almost as bad as Villa's in the opening half. Thankfully though they remain a poor side with minimal investment in this window - we should improve over the coming weeks regardless of when Ben Arfa returns as the new lads start to gel, but Villa fans should be very, very worried.

Having been forced to play teams composed of the players available to him for much of this season, Pardew's selections and substitutions will be vital in the coming weeks and as the new signings bed in, their withdrawals will need to be both timely and thoughtful. On this occasion they were neither.

Our exit from the ground was surprisingly similar to the way we departed in the relegation season - bolting for the exits as soon as the final whistle sounded, leaving others to salute the team in rather better circumstances than back in 2009. The perplexity remained at what had been witnessed. but the desire to depart this time as soon as possible was based on very different emotions.

This time we'd got away with it. 

Niall Mackenzie