Demba Ba grabs a hat trick: Stoke 1 - 3 Newcastle

Superb stuff from Newcastle, who do indeed go third, and above Chelsea. They were given a great big helping hand from the referee with an extremely questionable late penalty but in truth their performance deserved a win.

Stoke looked found out tonight, and with another appearance (away in Israel) in Europe's second-favourite (of two) club competition things are beginning to look a touch worrying for Tony Pulis.

Newcastle defended superbly, especially at set pieces, and in Ba they have a striker that's Ba-ng on form, and ba-nging them in for fun.

Demba Ba's hat-trick continued Newcastle's unbeaten run as they moved third in the Premier League's following victory over Stoke.

Ba almost ruined his evening when his push on Peter Crouch led to Jonathan Walters' penalty with 15 minutes left.

But the forward then scored from the spot soon after a foul on Leon Best.

Victory for Alan Pardew's team puts them above Chelsea in the Premier League table with 22 points.

The result also marked a significant scalp, given that Stoke had not lost at the Britannia this season, and it underlined the Magpies credentials as the best defence in the top tier as they thwarted Stoke's set-piece threat.

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