SO much for not liking Mondays then. Newcastle United had lost their last ten televised Monday-night matches prior to their trip to Turf Moor, but at the 11th time of asking, the curse of one of Sky Sports’ flagship shows was finally lifted. Not, however, that Matt Ritchie will want to watch on catch-up.

Ritchie produced a contender for Miss of the Millennium, never mind the season, as he somehow failed to find an empty net in the second half of last night’s game, but his error did not prove costly as the Magpies dug deep to claim a third win on the trot.

The victory, which ended a Monday-night jinx that stretched back to December 2012, was a product of some committed defending and an astute tactical switch from Rafael Benitez, whose decision to field a remodelled five-man backline was richly rewarded.

Having been handed the perfect start when Ben Mee deflected Federico Fernandez’s fourth-minute effort into his own net, Newcastle doubled their lead through a Ciaran Clark header midway through the first half.

Chris Wood reduced Burnley’s arrears shortly before half-time, and the hosts slung a succession of balls into the Newcastle box in the second half in an attempt to claim an equaliser. That they were ultimately unsuccessful was largely down to Fernandez’s defensive excellence and a couple of inspired saves from Martin Dubravka, who dealt superbly with what was thrown at him.

The switch to five centre-halves meant Newcastle were never swamped in their own area, and at the other end, the Magpies posed a considerable threat on the counter-attack all night. Ritchie’s miss should have settled things, and with Joselu also striking the post in the closing stages, the visitors could easily have finished with their highest goalscoring tally of the season. As it was, two sufficed.

It turned out to be a late night for Newcastle, with a medical incident prior to kick-off resulting in a 30-minute delay. Referees assessor Eddie Wolstenholme collapsed and had to be treated in the players’ tunnel at Turf Moor before he was taken to hospital. The 64-year-old, who is a former Premier League official, was in a conscious state when he left the ground, but the emergency meant the game did not begin until 8.30pm.

By 8.34, Newcastle were in the lead. The game had barely had chance to settle down when a short-corner routine left DeAndre Yedlin in a crossing position on the right.

Wood cleared the wing-back’s cross, but Robbie Brady’s tackle on Kenedy sent the ball spinning towards Fernandez 20 yards out. The centre-half is hardly a natural marksman, and his side-footed effort was probably heading wide of the post when it left his foot, but the ball took a hefty deflection off Mee and looped beyond a helpless Joe Hart. It was Newcastle’s first away goal since Yoshinori Muto scored at Old Trafford, and represented the perfect start.

From a Burnley perspective, it was the worst possible scenario given Benitez’s deserved reputation for excellent defensive organisation, and Newcastle’s remodelled five-man defence duly spent the next half-an-hour shutting down their opponents’ attempts at attacking.

Burnley played into Newcastle’s hands for the most part, hurling a succession of fairly aimless long balls in the direction of Vokes and Wood, but there was still much to admire in the defensive work that enabled the Magpies’ three centre-halves to dominate their half of the field.

Fernandez was like a rock at the heart of the backline, outperforming Wood in the air, and he was ably supported by Fabian Schar, who increasingly looks like a summer steal given his £3m price tag, and Clark, who was recalled as part of the defensive rejig that was forced by the absence of Paul Dummett.

Content to sit back with a deep defensive line, Newcastle soaked up whatever was thrown at them for most of the first half. Wood fired a first-time shot wide after Matt Lowton crossed from the right, and drilled in a long-range effort that Dubravka gathered at the second attempt, but the Magpies were initially untroubled despite Burnley edging them in terms of possession.

When Newcastle did have the ball, they threatened on the break, with Kenedy and Ayoze Perez breaking forward purposefully to support Salomon Rondon. Counter-attacking was one of the Magpies’ major strengths last season, and in many ways, this was a return to some of the more effective away days from last term.

For most of last season, Newcastle made the most of the chances that came way, and crucially, when a second opportunity presented itself in the 23rd minute of last night’s game, it resulted in the visitors doubling their lead.

Again, a short-corner routine proved effective, with Ritchie’s one-two with Ki Sung-yueng enabling him to cross from the right. Clark stole between Lowton and Mee, and beat Hart with a glanced header that found the bottom left-hand corner.

While a packed away end celebrated raucously, the home support were becoming increasingly unhappy with their side’s laboured efforts. Their mood changed markedly, however, after Burnley clawed their way back into the game five minutes before the break.

The goal was as route-one as they come, with Mee launching a long ball out of defence, and Vokes angling a run ahead of Clark to enable him to power home a header from the edge of the area. In fairness to the Burnley striker, it was a magnificent finish.

Suddenly, Newcastle were creaking, and the Clarets would have levelled before the interval had Dubravka not produced an excellent save to deny Wood. Vokes nodded the ball down for his strike partner, but Dubravka’s agility came to his side’s rescue as he turned the New Zealander’s fiercely-hit effort over the crossbar.

Newcastle needed to restore their two-goal lead to give themselves a degree of comfort again, and they would have done exactly that had Ritchie not produced the miss of this, or indeed any, season four minutes after the break.

Mo Diame’s through ball released Yedlin behind Charlie Taylor, and while Hart got a foot to the American’s prodded strike, Ritchie was left with the simplest of tap-ins at the back post.

The entire goal was at his mercy, but inexplicably, the Scotsman opened up his body and somehow slashed a first-time shot into the side-netting from no more than two yards. The Newcastle fans, massed behind the goal, were stunned, leaving Ritchie to take out his frustration on the netting. At least he didn’t miss that too.

He did, however, get in a tangle with Rondon as another counter-attacking move threatened to cut Burnley apart ten minutes later, and Newcastle’s failure to kill the game off meant their opponents were able to continue slinging balls into the box in the hope of fashioning an equaliser.

Fernandez dealt with the majority of them, with Brady’s sloppy delivery aiding the Magpies’ cause, although Wood flashed a 69th-minute drive straight at Dubravka after a high ball dropped at his feet.

Wood also side-footed over from the penalty spot in the closing stages, but Newcastle continued to create chances of their own and Joselu smacked a late strike against the base of the post after Perez’s through ball released him into the box.