Spurs started the game the strongest of the two sides, exploiting Newcastles defensive frailties on the left. First Adebayor and then Paulihno found themselves on the end of tantalising crosses, only for the in form striker to drag his shot wide with his Brazilian counterpart being unable to test Krul from a similar position. Despite Spurs monopolising the chances in the first five minutes of the contest it was the home side that nearly took the lead early on. A 30-yard costless kick was floated to De Jong on the far post who rose above Kyle Walker to head the ball into the path of Cisse. The forward however, who hasn’t played a minute of Premier League football in almost four months, failed to score from only 4 yards out, instead hitting a tame shot directly into the arms of a grateful Lloris.
The chances from costless kicks continued as Walker found the head of Vertonghen only to see him nod the ball fractionally wide when the goal lay gaping. Newcastle were made to pay for Cisse's spurned chance in the 20th minute when Bentaleb burst down the left flank, the 19-year-old Frenchman impressively left Moussa Sissoko behind before playing a lo, bouncingw ball across the face of the goal. Krul managed to reach the cross but was only able to deflect the ball into the path of Adebayor and from two yards out the Togolese front man was never going to miss. Newcastle nearly hit back straight from the kick off as Ameobi broke costless of the Tottenham defence, only to see his shot blocked on the edge of the area by a sliding Kaboul to deny him an almost instant equaliser.
The rest of the half was as open as you are likely to see in the Premier League with both teams throwing caution to the wind and committing to the attack leaving the midfield virtually void of players. Tottenham had the better of the chances but Newcastle found themselves in good positions on the break after consitent failures in the Spurs assault. It was the away side however, who had the only other real chance of the half as Aaron Lennon beat several players in the Newcastle box only to see his shot cannon off the post with Tim Krul clawing at air.
The second half started in almost reverse fashion to the first with Newcastle dominating the early chances but unlike Newcastle the away side were clinical when given the oppurtunity to put the ball in the back of the net. Spurs second goal came only five minutes into the second half when Paulihno teed the ball up nicely for Adebayor on the edge of the box. Krul once again managed to parry the shot from the striker but the rebound landed at the feet of Paulinho, who was just about onside, and a small chip by the midfielder made it 2.
Rather than burying a Newcastle side, who have come under some harsh criticism recently, the second goal only seemed to spur them on. Substitute Dummett found himself through on goal twice in the ensuing minutes only to be denied by two last ditch tackles from Andros Townsend. The sustained Newcastle pressure nearly paid off as Gouffran let fly from 20 yards forcing Lloris to make a low save down to his left. The Frenchman found himself under fire again almost immediately from the resulting corner, as he produced a fantastic save to deny Debuchy from a point blank header.
Spurs woke up to the danger Newcastle posed just in time and after a bit of short passing between Paulihno and Chadli on the edge of the area Townsend found himself in space on the right. The young winger unleashed a shot at Krul who punched it away only for Adebayor to find himself, once again, the recipient of a stroke of good fortune. The front man smashed the ball into the turf, which lofted it beautifully over the Dutch keeper to make it 3 and end all hopes of a Newcastle revival. Nacer Chadli was able to increase Spurs lead only minutes later with an astounding curling shot into the top corner from outside the area, which left Tim Krul wondering what he had done wrong.
The result means that Spurs close the gap on the top of the table and continue their pursuit of a Liverpool side that are favourites to land the last coveted Champions League spot. However it leaves Newcastle with four straight home losses for the first time in a decade and although a mid table finish is all but assured, questions are starting to be asked on Tyneside.