SUBSTITUTE Saido Berahino struck a late penalty as West Brom overcame 10-man Newcastle 1-0 for their first Barclays Premier League win under caretaker boss Keith Downing.
Berahino stepped up to score with four minutes remaining on a wet and blustery afternoon at The Hawthorns after Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul brought down Matej Vydra.
Krul escaped a red card for his challenge but team-mate Mathieu Debuchy saw no such leniency from referee Lee Mason after a two-footed challenge on Claudio Yacob.
It was West Brom's first victory in 10 games and was thoroughly merited after a hard-working performance.
It lifted some of the gloom with which 2013 ended after the sacking of head coach Steve Clarke and put aside the controversy generated by Nicolas Anelka's goal celebration last weekend.
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