Time is almost up now for Newcastle to steal a last-gasp winner, with the match now in the final minute of stoppage time. The hosts' recent woes look set to continue.
90' +2
Newcastle really should have been home and dry before Crouch's goal, with both Obertan and Ayoze presented with glorious opportunities in the final 10 minutes. Stoke have really made the most of those let-offs.
90'
P. Crouch has scored a goal for Stoke City! Assist by G. Cameron.
GOAL!!! STOKE ARE LEVEL! Cameron is released down the right by N'Zonzi and the right-back's cross is lofted deep into the area. Crouch rises highest and meets it at the back post, looping his effort over Krul and into the net, despite Coloccini's best efforts.
89'
Muniesa gets yellow.
87'
WONDERFUL RUN! Ayoze causes havoc down the left flank as he runs at Cameron, cuts inside him and then runs into the area. The young Spaniard then skips past another challenge and goes for goal, but his effort is blazed well over.
86'
M. Abeid enters the game and replaces S. Ameobi.
85'
WHAT A CHANCE FOR NEWCASTLE! Terrific breakaway by the home side, as Sissoko charges into the Stoke half and strides away from Moses. He slips a pass into the right side of the area for Obertan, who rides the challenge of Wollscheid, but instead of going for goal with just Begovic to beat, the Frenchman tries to set up a team-mate and gives the ball away. What a let-off for Stoke.
84'
Stoke finally force Krul into action, as Bardsley tries his luck from distance after being teed up by Crouch, but the full-back's stinging drive is fired straight at the Dutch goalkeeper.
82'
P. Crouch enters the game and replaces S. Ireland.
It appears that Ireland's final contribution was to have his goal chalked off, as he is now replaced by Crouch after seemingly picking up a hamstring strain.
Minute
Description
80'
Stoke have ten minutes to get themselves level again if they want to avoid defeat here. They have largely controlled the possession in this second half, though chances haven't exactly been a regular occurrence for them.
78'
Just for a few seconds Stoke think they have an equaliser, as Ireland produces a fine finish into the top-left corner from the edge of the area, but he had previously strayed just offside.
76'
Colback may consider himself lucky to still be on the pitch to score that goal, but he made his presence count and Newcastle have the lead, despite struggling to really get to grips with the midfield battle since the break.
74'
J. Colback has scored a goal for Newcastle United! Assist by M. Sissoko.
GOAL!!! NEWCASTLE HAVE THE LEAD! The hosts work the ball really well out to the right flank, as Ayoze slips a pass down the right side of the Stoke area for Obertan, who zips a fierce low cross into the danger zone. Sissoko controls it and tees the ball up on the edge of the area for Colback, whose sliced effort nestles in the bottom-left corner.
73'
Ameobi has been quiet since the break, but he comes into a central position now to get himself involved. He squares up to Whelan and then passes to Obertan to his right. The Frenchman gets a decent cross in, but the delivery is played a little behind Cisse and his header goes wide.
72'
Colback really is walking a tightrope now. The England international goes in hard on Moses and gets nowhere near the ball, but he escapes a second yellow card. He can't have too many of those left before being sent off.
71'
Obertan gets himself involved straight away out on the right and, after producing a stepover, he drives a cross into the area, which is cleared before Cisse can pounce.
70'
The Newcastle fans clearly aren't impressed now. Carver brings off Cabella, a decision met with jeers from the home faithful and Obertan takes his place, making his comeback from a three-month injury lay-off.
69'
G. Obertan enters the game and replaces R. Cabella.
68'
The goalkeeper is called into action this time, though! Haidara looks to deal with Diouf, but he finds himself robbed of the ball again and the Senegal forward fires into the area. Krul intercepts, though, much to the relief of the Newcastle left-back.
67'
Just like in the first half, Stoke have so far had the better of the possession since the break. Though, their threat has been more suggestive than definitive, with Krul still having little to do in goal.
65'
P. Cissé enters the game and replaces V. Anita.
Carver appears to have seen enough. Off goes Anita and on comes Cisse, as Newcastle go all out to claim all three points.
64'
It's certainly Stoke in the ascendancy at the moment, with Newcastle struggling to get out of their own penalty area. Nevertheless, with Sissoko, Ayoze, Cabella and Ameobi still sitting fairly high up, they look well set up for the counterattack.
62'
True to form, Moses' corner delivery fails to even beat the first man, giving Newcastle the chance to clear. But, thankfully for Stoke, the clearance isn't much better and they swiftly work the ball to N'Zonzi on the left. He tries to trick his way past Janmaat, but must settle for another corner.
61'
Newcastle have to defend a corner now, as Stoke win the set-piece seemingly out of nothing on the right flank. Moses heads across to take it.
59'
It must be said that, so far, this second half has not been much of an improvement on the first. Neither side appears to have much control over proceedings, particularly in midfield, while chances have been infrequent. Newcastle certainly have players capable of causing problems in Cabella, Ayoze and Sissoko, but they aren't having much of an impact currently.
57'
Stoke eventually get the ball out wide to Moses, who is in plenty of space. He runs at Janmaat, but the Dutch defender does well against the winger after showing him inside, forcing a pass back to Whelan, whose eventual delivery into the area goes straight out of play.
56'
Stoke are enjoying an extended spell in possession in the Newcastle half, though they aren't creating much, as they continue to struggle to break down the hosts' resolute defence.
54'
Colback now goes into the referee's book following a late challenge on Muniesa, whom he was trying to stop from crossing the ball. He accepts the booking with no protest.
53'
J. Colback gets yellow.
Lovely move by the hosts, as Janmaat slips a pass in towards the centre for Ayoze. The Spaniard edges into the area, skipping past Wollsheid in the process and then teeing up Cabella. The Frenchman instantly plays a return pass into the danger zone, but the former Tenerife man can't get it under control.
51'
G. Cameron enters the game and replaces M. Wilson.
And there is the change. Wilson's day is over and he is replaced by Cameron, who goes over to the right, with Bardsley coming to the left.
50'
The referee is allowing a pause in play now. First it is Ayoze who is down after finding himself sandwiched between Wollscheid and Wilson, and then the latter kicks the ball out to receive medical attention himself.
48'
One thing that has been particularly noticeable so far, is that the atmosphere at St. James' Park has been rather muted. Admittedly the fans have not been given much to shout about, but it is surprisingly quiet.
46'
Right, off we go for the second half. Can these two sides be separated?
45' +3
HALF-TIME!
45' +2
KRUL TO THE RESCUE! Ireland finds space in the right side of the area and, although he appears to be offside, the midfielder crosses into the danger zone. Diouf gets ahead of his marker and directs a header towards goal, but the keeper palms it away.
45' +1
There will be three minutes added on here.
44'
JUST WIDE OF THE TARGET! Cabella drops into a deep position and brilliantly turns his marker, before playing a fine throughball towards the area for Ayoze. The Spaniard's first touch isn't great, but he is still able to get a shot away from 20 yards, sending a low effort agonisingly wide of the left-hand post.
42'
Moses stands over the free-kick and fires a delivery into the danger area, but Coloccini is there to nod clear. It must be said, set-pieces have been generally poor so far toay.
41'
Free-kick to Stoke is a great position now. Wilson plays the ball down the left wing for Diouf and he initially manages to hold off Janmaat, before going to down after being tripped.
39'
Good defending by Newcastle. Walters plays a clever pass into the danger area for Diouf, who has Coloccini for company. The Argentine gets his feet a little tangled and appears to be in trouble, but Haidara covers well and steals possession back.
37'
It's heating up a bit out there at the moment. Tackles are flying in and Ireland seemingly eyes retribution as he goes in hard on Ameobi, looking to block his clearance up the flank. The crowd react, though the referee ignores the protests.
35'
S. Ameobi gets yellow.
Ameobi is back on the pitch and his first action results in a booking, as the winger is dispossessed and in a fit of frustration, he cynically brings down Ireland.
34'
Cabella stands over the resulting free-kick, about 35 yards from goal out on the left flank. He curls a decent delivery into the danger area, though no one is quite alive enough to get on the end of it and Stoke bring the ball away.
33'
G. Whelan gets yellow.
Whelan is the latest Stoke player to go into the referee's book. The Irish midfielder produced a strong challenge on Ameobi, who appears to be in some pain, and the yellow card comes out.
31'
Newcastle are looking to exploit Cabella's pace down the flank now, as the French midfielder latches on to Haidara's pass up the wing. He tries to sprint beyond his marker, but he is forced to settle for a corner, as Muniesa - who appears to have recovered - produces a fine last-ditch challenge.
30'
We have a brief pause in play now as Muniesa seeks medical attention. The Spaniard appears to have been taken out by his own team-mate, Wollscheid.
28'
Clever feet from Ameobi. The winger comes in from his wide berth and spins past Whelan after taking up possession. Space opens up for him and he tries his luck from distance, forcing a comfortable save from Begovic.
27'
Excellent counterattack from the hosts now. Sissoko charges forward through the centre, forcing the Stoke defence back as he hares towards them. The Frenchman slips a pass to his left for Cabella and instantly gets into the area in anticipation of the return pass, but Begovic is quick off his line to deal with the danger.
26'
Bardsley takes the throw-in short and Diouf does rather well considering the pressure he is put under. The Senegal international squeezes past Haidara down the outside, but his eventual low delivery into the air is poor.
25'
Stoke are trying to put together some passes in the Newcastle half, though they are struggling with the hosts' pressing tactics. The visitors do find some luck this time, however, and Bardsley wins a throw-in to the right of the penalty area.
23'
S. Ireland gets yellow.
Strong challenge there from Ireland on Colback and the Stoke man has his name taken, somewhat unsurprisingly. Hughes isn't impressed, but it was certainly a late tackle.
22'
Again, fine full-back play by Haidara. He plays a one-two with Ameobi, whose return pass down the flank is perfect, and the defender bends a fine, teasing cross into the centre for Ayoza. The Spaniard throws himself towards the ball, but he can't quite reach it.
20'
Newcastle deal with the corner fairly comfortably, but Stoke remain on the front foot. The ball is knocked back out to the right for Moses, who does well to beat Haidara, knocking it past the full-back with a clever header. His delivery, however, leaves a lot to be desired and the home side get away unscathed.
19'
Carver is not happy as Stoke are awarded a throw-in, when the ball did not appear to hit a Newcastle player last. The visitors then work the ball down the flank and win themselves a corner. It'll be controversial if they score from this!
17'
Well, that was all a bit of a waste. The corner is cleared by the first man and then, from the following throw-in, Haidara's cross is headed well wide of the target by Ayoze.
16'
Excellent run by Haidara there. The left-back has started well as he charges forward with the ball this time. He shrugs off one challenge, eases past another defender and then runs at Bardsley, who is forced to concede a corner.
15'
V. Moses gets yellow.
Good play by Walters as he brings down another lofted pass in the final third, holds off Janmaat and then plays a clever back-heel into the path of Moses. The winger runs at the Newcastle full-back, but the combination of him and Cabella snuff out the danger.
13'
While we haven't seen too much to get excited about in this yet, it is clear that it is Newcastle who are trying to force the issue. Ameobi and Cabella have looked bright so far, while Haidara is getting forward whenever possible down the left. Ayoze will be hoping for some service, though.
11'
NEWCASTLE GO CLOSE! The home side click into gear brilliantly down the left. Ameobi skips past a challenge, draws a defender and then slips a pass down the flank for Sissoko. The France international crosses and Cabella manages to reach the delivery with a glancing header, but Begovic is there to make the save.
9'
There is the match's first shot and Walters exhibits some trademark physicality, as he brings a long ball down, holds off Williamson and manages to get a shot away from about 30 yards. Krul watches his effort go just wide, however.
8'
Ameobi has looked bright during these early exchanges, picking up the ball and running at his man out on the left flank. Though, on this occasion he is tackled and he then concedes a free-kick.
6'
Nothing comes of the free-kick, as Stoke's physically imposing backline clears the ball fairly easily. Newcastle try to keep their visitors back inside their own half with his intense pressing, but they eventually make an escape.
5'
Newcastle change the pace of the match in an instant, as the ball is played forward by Sissoko. He finds Cabella, who tries to play Ayoze into the area, though his pass is cut out. The hosts eventually win a free-kick about 35 yards from goal, however, as Anita is tripped by N'Zonzi.
3'
We certainly haven't seen a frantic start to proceedings here. The two sides are knocking the ball around patiently, not doing an awful lot in possession as they size up their respective opponents.
1'
Off we go! Stoke get us underway.
Hello and welcome to the LIVE coverage of the Premier League meeting between Newcastle United and Stoke City. My name is Ryan Benson and I shall be describing the action for you today, as these two sides go head-to-head at St. James' Park, with the visitors eyeing revenge.
Newcastle come into this clash looking to build upon last week's 3-0 crushing of Hull City, a result which was John Carver's first triumph since taking over as interim manager following Alan Pardew's departure. United suffered three successive Premier League defeats before that, seeing themselves slip into the bottom half of the table. However, a win today will see the hosts swap places with Stoke, taking them up to tenth.
Stoke, however, will be hoping to inflict some revenge today. Their last visit to St. James' Park was not pretty, as Newcastle emerged as 5-1 winners on the day, while the away side also had two players and manager Mark Hughes dismissed. Few will expect a similar outcome today, but Stoke will undoubtedly believe they are good enough to hit back, potentially exploiting the uncertainty that has surrounded the Newcastle team since Pardew's departure.
Carver continues to make do without a host of first-team regulars, with Tiote (Africa Cup of Nations duty), Rob Elliott, Ryan Taylor, Steven Taylor, Siem de Jong and Rolando Aaron all missing from the squad. Nevertheless, he is able to welcome Paul Dummett back from a hamstring injury and he takes a place amongst the subs.
Mark Hughes also a few injury concerns to take into account. Captain Ryan Shawcross is out for three weeks with a back injury, while Erik Pieters, Bojan and Peter Odemwingie are all still out. But, Jonathan Walters is able to feature after overcoming a knee problem, but Marko Arnautovic misses out after injuring himself in training yesterday.
The two teams are out on the pitch as kick-off approaches!
Newcastle 0-0 Stoke: The referee brings the first half to a close with the score still level. The hosts have generally had the better of the first 45 with regards to goal-scoring chances, as both Cabella and Ayoze have gone close. But, it is Stoke who have seen more of the ball, without doing too much with it until the closing stages. Quality has been sadly lacking, though hopefully the contest will become more open as both sides go in search of a win.
The referee's full-time whistle is met with jeers from the home fans as Stoke City secured a last-gasp 1-1 draw thanks to Crouch. Colback had initially given the hosts the lead after a rather dull 74 minutes, though that goal seemingly brought the match to life. Carver's side should have wrapped up victory through Obertan and then Ayoza, but neither displayed the necessary composure to extend the lead and the away side ultimately hit back at the death to secure a point.
Thank you for joining me today. I hope you have enjoyed the action.
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