Premier League
NewcastleNewcastle United2HullHull City2

Newcastle United 2-2 Hull City

By Chris BevanBBC Sport at St James' Park
Alan Pardew
Before the match, Alan Pardew had accused the fans of hysteria
  • Hull's Jelavic scores third league goal of season
  • Cisse scores first goals since March
  • Point moves Newcastle off bottom of the table

A mass protest against Newcastle boss Alan Pardew failed to materialise as two Papiss Cisse goals saw his side fight back from 2-0 down to salvage a dramatic point against Hull.

What was expected to be a day of deep discontent at St James' Park will instead be remembered for the spirit the Magpies showed as they salvaged a point that takes them off the bottom of the Premier League table.

Spectacular second-half strikes by Nikica Jelavic and Mohamed Diame had put the Tigers ahead but Cisse came off the bench to rescue an unlikely point and, temporarily at least, take the heat off his beleaguered boss.

Alan Pardew 'fighting' for Newcastle job

Pardew was under mounting pressure after his side's miserable start to the season had prompted some supporters to threaten open revolt against his four-year reign.

A fans group had printed 30,000 anti-Pardew posters before kick-off and asked fans to wave them in the fifth-minute to mark the number of wins Newcastle have managed in 2014.

Stewards stopped some supporters from bringing the posters into the ground but, while a smattering of fans still showed them off, the chants that accompanied the protest were directed at the club's owner Mike Ashley, not Pardew.

Unlike during their sorry defeat at Southampton last weekend, however, dissent was not the prevailing mood among the Newcastle fans.

Ex-Celtic boss Neil Lennon on Match of the Day
"You have to give Pardew a lot of credit. He was feeling and kicking every ball."I have been in that situation. It is a lonely place. You can all have your staff and family around you, but you need a lot of self-belief. You have to transmit that to your players."In my second season at Celtic, we were 10 points behind Rangers and we were 3-0 down at half-time at Kilmarnock. I told the players if they wanted me there on Monday they had to turn it around. Thankfully they did. Maybe today is the same for Alan."

Some enterprising early attacking play from the home side helped ensure the crowd were mostly positive in the first half but the issues in attack that had seen Newcastle fail to score in three of their four previous league games this season did remain.

Remy Cabella and Yoan Gouffran both failed to seriously test Tigers keeper Allan McGregor when well placed and several neat passing moves fizzled out.

A few half-hearted boos were as bad as it got for Pardew at half-time, but the atmosphere changed when Jelavic swivelled to fire Hull ahead in acrobatic style just after the break. It was then the first chants of 'We want Pardew out' were heard from sections of the ground.

Draw feels like a defeat - Steve Bruce

Their volume increased when Diame found space to fizz a superb second goal high into the net with 20 minutes left, but the hostility never reached the same levels as it had done when fans protested against Pardew on the final day of last season.

Instead, the home supporters concentrated on helping their team battle back into the game, with their comeback starting as soon as Cisse came off the bench to provide the bite that had been missing up front.

The Senegalese striker reduced the deficit with 16 minutes left when he accepted Cheick Tiote's pass and beat McGregor with an angled drive and, in doing so, inspired his side to press hard for an equaliser.

One came with three minutes remaining, when Gouffran met Moussa Sissoko's ball into the box and Cisse fired home to ensure his first appearance of the season was a memorable one.

A point is not the end of Pardew's problems, but his future at least looks a little more secure than it did last Saturday.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew: "We had some big chances and then we make one mistake and it got punished, and an unbelievable goal out of nothing puts us in a big hole.

"But we had tremendous resolve. The players have had to play under enormous pressure and I'm very proud of them.

"I have to say 80% of the crowd were terrific. They took a view of 'let's see what happens'. We do have some fans who are a little bit more radical than that and they wanted to make their presence felt and you have to accept that as a manager."

Hull manager Steve Bruce: "If feels like a loss. Unfortunately, we've made mistakes and got punished.

"We've scored two wonderful goals, which would have graced any arena. Apart from the mistakes we made late on, we looked a very good team.

"Individual errors are something you can never determine what it is. Is it complacency? Tiredness? A mistake is a mistake and we've got punished."

Newcastle fans outside St James' Park
Fans' displeasure with manager Alan Pardew was visible outside St James' Park before kick-off
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley gives the thumbs up during the game
Nikica Jelavic scores for Hull
Nikica Jelavic is now Hull's second top scorer in Premier League history with seven goals
Papiss Cisse celebrates scoring
Papiss Cisse came off the bench to stop Newcastle suffering a second successive defeat

Line-ups

Newcastle

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Krul
  • 22Janmaat
  • 6Williamson
  • 2ColocciniBooked at 52mins
  • 36Dummett
  • 24TiotéSubstituted forAmeobiat 85'minutesBooked at 90mins
  • 14Colback
  • 7SissokoBooked at 59mins
  • 20CabellaBooked at 73mins
  • 11GouffranSubstituted forPérezat 90+4'minutes
  • 29RiviereSubstituted forCisséat 69'minutes

Substitutes

  • 8Anita
  • 9Cissé
  • 17Pérez
  • 19Haidara
  • 21Elliot
  • 27Taylor
  • 28Ameobi

Hull

Formation 4-4-2

  • 1McGregor
  • 27El Mohamady
  • 21Dawson
  • 6Davies
  • 26RobertsonBooked at 59minsSubstituted forRoseniorat 88'minutes
  • 14Livermore
  • 8Huddlestone
  • 17Diamé
  • 29Quinn
  • 18JelavicSubstituted forMeylerat 81'minutes
  • 9HernándezSubstituted forAlukoat 56'minutesBooked at 90mins

Substitutes

  • 2Rosenior
  • 5Chester
  • 7Meyler
  • 11Brady
  • 22Harper
  • 24Aluko
  • 25Ramírez
Referee:
Neil Swarbrick
Attendance:
49,119

Match Stats

Home TeamNewcastleAway TeamHull
Possession
Home63%
Away37%
Shots
Home25
Away10
Shots on Target
Home7
Away3
Corners
Home4
Away2
Fouls
Home11
Away11

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Newcastle United 2, Hull City 2.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Newcastle United 2, Hull City 2.

  3. Post update

    Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Ahmed Elmohamady.

  4. Post update

    Attempt missed. Curtis Davies (Hull City) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.

  5. Post update

    Foul by Sammy Ameobi (Newcastle United).

  6. Post update

    Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  7. Substitution

    Substitution, Newcastle United. Ayoze Pérez replaces Yoan Gouffran.

  8. Booking

    Sone Aluko (Hull City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  9. Post update

    Yoan Gouffran (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  10. Post update

    Foul by Sone Aluko (Hull City).

  11. Post update

    Foul by Sammy Ameobi (Newcastle United).

  12. Post update

    David Meyler (Hull City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  13. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Papiss Demba Cissé (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

  14. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Rémy Cabella (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Sammy Ameobi.

  15. Substitution

    Substitution, Hull City. Liam Rosenior replaces Andrew Robertson.

  16. Goal!

    Goal! Newcastle United 2, Hull City 2. Papiss Demba Cissé (Newcastle United) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Yoan Gouffran with a headed pass.

  17. Post update

    Corner, Hull City. Conceded by Sammy Ameobi.

  18. Post update

    Delay over. They are ready to continue.

  19. Substitution

    Substitution, Newcastle United. Sammy Ameobi replaces Cheick Tioté because of an injury.

  20. Post update

    Delay in match Cheick Tioté (Newcastle United) because of an injury.