Newcastle 1 - 0 Norwich: Magpies keep Europe in sights

Cisse’s 11th-minute strike, his third in four home outings, was enough to win a contest which remained in the balance until the final whistle.

Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy produced a string of fine saves to keep the Magpies at bay, while opposite number Tim Krul also had to be at his best with the visitors threatening to snatch a point in front of a tense crowd of 47,833.

January signing Cisse’s finish came after 11 minutes when he got ahead of Whitbread to drill Jonas Gutierrez’s cross past the helpless Ruddy.

But had he been as lethal with three other first-half chances, the points could have been banked long before the end of the game.

For their part, the Canaries moved the ball confidently and created chances of their own. Jonny Howson just failed to capitalise on Mike Williamson’s 19th-minute error before Anthony Pilkington drilled a long-range effort into Krul’s midriff. Then Andrew Surman fired wildly across the face of goal in the final minute of the first half.

Cisse tested Ruddy again in the 50th-minute and the goalkeeper needed two attempts to claim his shot. But Norwich were in no mood to lie down, and the home side needed Krul to preserve their lead twice within seconds. He blocked Pilkington’s shot at his near post, then tipped Whitbread’s header over as the visitors pushed hard for an equaliser.