'Quiet man' Woodgate silences Chelsea

Newcastle United 2 Chelsea 1

No heroics, no dramatics, but, most crucially, nothing to seize upon for his critics. And, at the final whistle, there were surely no misgivings from Jonathan Woodgate at his journey from Yorkshire to the North-East which could yet end with him securing a championship medal. Sir Bobby Robson is too experienced for such careless talk, and neither was the Newcastle manager prepared to raid his adjectives stock unnecessarily when asked for his observations on the club's £9m acquisition.

"Quiet" was his considered opinion after a performance from the England centre-back which suggests that, while it will take a little longer before he becomes an idol of the Gallowgate, it was a shrewd purchase even in these deflationary times. Woodgate timed one telling challenge on Jesper Gronkjaer with perfection early on, and otherwise handled with typical competence Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – a player who was moving on from Leeds when Woodgate was breaking through from the junior ranks.

"Jonathan's not played for seven weeks [as he was recovering from a hip injury] and he was making his debut in strange surroundings," added Robson. "He hadn't even played a reserve match. But he's gone into the game full-pelt and didn't try to do anything clever. He was cautious and adequate."

Not a description of Newcastle at the moment. This was United's fourth successive victory. They are unbeaten in eight. Speculate when you are ahead, not when you are dead, is the old maxim and that has been Newcastle's strategy. Woodgate's arrival, according to Robson, is a measure of Newcastle's ambition, although one of management's vagaries is that, as soon as you buy an expensive defender, your existing ones suddenly tend to become as focused as Jodrell Bank. That has been the case here in recent weeks, during which Newcastle had conceded a mere two goals in seven games.

For a half, Robson's rearguard, with Woodgate partnering Andy O'Brien, looked as though someone had hacked away the solid pit-props supporting that supreme rich vein of form in both the Premiership and Europe. Around half-time, some of the home faithful were no doubt muttering about whether Leeds had got the best of the deal forced upon them by financial necessity. But Woodgate is a class act and his assimilation was tangible after the break.

It had to be strong because Chelsea, with Frank Lampard emerging easily the more effective in his private duel with Kieron Dyer, were overall the better side in their approach play. Woodgate and Co also had to contend eventually with four strikers – or, as Robson put it, eight attacking players – as Claudio Ranieri cast Gianfranco Zola, Carlton Cole and Boudewijn Zenden into the fray to join Gudjohnsen and Hasselbaink when Chelsea desperately sought an equaliser they merited. But the Blues, as so often, flattered before failing to succeed.

Sir Alex Ferguson calls London players "flash". The majority at the Bridge are adopted Londoners, but there was something in his words yesterday. Hasselbaink had one of those days when he is too often on his backside, arms crossed, eyes wide, making futile appeals to the referee. And he scored a belter of an own goal just after the half-hour, which enlivened a then dire contest. It was the result of a short corner from Nolberto Solano, and returned by Hugo Viana. With the visitors' rearguard wrong-footed, the Peruvian's fierce drive found the unwitting Dutchman's head. It could not have beaten Carlo Cudicini with more power and direction if Alan Shearer had applied the final touch.

Yet, that had been a rare threat to the Chelsea goal and Ranieri's men retaliated within minutes. Gudjohnsen had already issued a warning. The Icelander, left unmarked, might have improved upon his effort when Mario Stanic's cross found him, but then, almost immediately, Hasselbaink, cheered sarcastically as he went to take a corner, had the last laugh when Newcastle failed to clear his kick. Aaron Hughes headed away inadequately and as the ball returned to earth Lampard perfected a delicious volley to beat Shay Given.

Gudjohnsen had a further invitation, but again made life easy for Given, while, in the final seconds of the half, Shearer went down in the area amid a cluster of players. It appeared that he had merely miskicked and gone over because of his own momentum, but the crowd gave referee Jeff Winter, who ignored the penalty appeals, a considerable ear-bashing at the interval.

Shearer and Bellamy both spurned opportunities early in the second half, before Newcastle won the match with a splendidly engineered and executed goal. Dyer and Speed were both involved before Viana picked a hole in the retreating Chelsea defence like an expert safe-breaker. The French defender Olivier Bernard, who had burst through on the overlap, chipped subtly past Cudicini.

Lampard nearly equalised again with a header but Given denied him and, though Chelsea pressed relentlessly, they persisted in giving the ball away cheaply and were harried into errors. They were also denied two penalty claims; first when Bernard appeared to nudge Gudjohnsen in the area, and then, in the final minute of added time, when Woodgate appeared to have his arm round Cole as they jostled for a cross.

The defender received the benefit of the doubt from Mr Winter. On the first day of a new era in the eventful life of Woodgate, the Toon Army did likewise.

Newcastle United 2 Chelsea 1
Hasselbaink og 31, Bernard 53; Lampard 37

Half-time: 1-1 Attendance: 52,157