Andros Townsend scored a stunning free-kick as Newcastle United edged Crystal Palace 1-0 on Saturday and escaped the Premier League relegation zone at the expense of northeast rivals Sunderland.
Townsend netted with a sensational shot in the 58th minute and with Karl Darlow saving a penalty from ex-Newcastle player Yohan Cabaye, Rafael Benitez’s team claimed a potentially vital win.
Both teams could yet end up in the relegation places at the end of the day, however, if Norwich City can contrive to win at Arsenal in the late kick-off.
A pivotal day at St James’ Park began with a minute’s applause to mark the verdicts of the new inquests into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which found police responsible for the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.
Newcastle’s fans broke into a spontaneous rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, the Liverpool club anthem, but singing quickly gave way to nail-biting as the home side struggled to make a breakthrough.
Townsend eventually made the breakthrough, the one-time England winger sending a free-kick from wide on the right whistling into the top-left corner.
Twelve minutes later, Cabaye had a chance to equalise, but the France international, who angered Newcastle fans by leaving for Paris Saint-Germain in 2014, saw his penalty brilliantly turned away by Darlow.
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