NEWCASTLE UNITED might not have the style or quality of European football’s big guns, but they are developing a knack for causing the Premier League’s most coveted teams enough problems to boost their own fight to climb the table.

It might not have been the most attractive way to win a football match, and yet there was something hugely satisfying about the way Steve Bruce got the Magpies to secure maximum points against Frank Lampard’s young and hungry Chelsea.

Over the course of the 90 minutes at St James’ Park, in which the home side only recorded 30 per cent of the possession, the banks of black and white shirts was very reminiscent of the way Rafa Benitez would get his side to play on Tyneside.

And while Bruce would love to send out a Newcastle team more capable of taking the game to a side like Chelsea, he has realised in his first six months in charge that is the way to get the results to keep top-flight football in the North-East.

Even though Chelsea controlled things for long periods, Newcastle still had their chances while defending resolutely to keep Tammy Abraham and Co at bay – paving the way for the dramatic ending in which Isaac Hayden headed in the late winner to send the Gallowgate crazy.

What might have been perceived to have been fortunate a few months ago can now be regarded as something entirely different. After all, this was not the first time Newcastle have claimed something courtesy of late intervention.

First there was Matty Longstaff’s winner against Manchester United and then came Jonjo Shelvey’s strike to salvage a draw against Manchester City. There were also late goals to secure victories against Southampton and Crystal Palace before this latest triumph.

Those late goals have earned Newcastle an extra nine points this season, largely contributing to the fact that Bruce’s side are seven points clear of the relegation zone and looking good for staying up in his first season in charge.

If they do preserve Premier League status it might not have been achieved playing attractive football, but there is something actually entertaining in the manner they are delivering crucial results.

Matt Ritchie, fit again and performing like he is desperate to make up for lost time, said: “Certainly our fans wouldn’t prefer us to get beaten 3-2. We’re here to do a job, and win football matches.

“Growing up, as a kid you’re watching teams going ‘wow look at those’ - the Barcelona, Man City, Real Madrid - the top teams and the wonderful way they play. Don’t get me wrong, we’d love to play superb free-flowing football all the time but you’ve got to know who you are and where you are.

“At the moment, the way for us to beat top teams - and by the way we’ve had quite a bit of success against them in the last few years - is to play like that. If we go toe-to-toe with Chelsea, we’d win two maybe three times out of ten. We are not going to win all of them, so that is the best way to beat the best teams as we performed today.

“It’s not a lack of ambition, it’s not a criticism to us as a team. We are where we are. We came up from the Championship, we built, we got better and we’ve improved individually and collectively.

“We’re now in a really good position in the table. The fans obviously would like to see nice, pretty and free-flowing football, but it can’t be like that all the time. Even the best teams sometimes have to win ugly. I don’t think that was particularly ugly today, it was a fantastic disciplined defensive performance.”

After a disappointing start to life under Bruce, when criticism was strong particularly after the 5-0 drubbing at Leicester, Newcastle have turned things around.

Bruce realised he couldn’t get the squad he inherited to attack teams like he would have liked, so he went back to the tried and tested methods of Benitez’s era – which suits the personnel at his disposal. It would be wrong to suggest he has not influenced things, though, because the team spirit within the group is clear for all to see.

“I don’t think he got the respect he deserved when he came to the club, but the proof is in the pudding,” said Ritchie. “He’s leading us and we’re having some success. That’s down to the group and the manager and everyone involved in the football club. We win together and we lose together.

“The best thing is for everyone to be together pulling in the same direction for the club. The club will have a better feeling if everyone is like that, together. I feel it’s certainly going in the right direction.”

Had it not been for Martin Dubravka making a few saves again – keeping him at the top of the division’s shot-stopping charts having become the first to hit the century mark – and the Jamaal Lascelles’ inspired backline keeping things tight, Chelsea would have won this.

But Newcastle, despite conceding so much possession, arguably deserved it having thrown caution to the wind and threatening to score earlier than they did. A much improve Joelinton had already headed against the bar and Federico Fernandez had headed wide from an unmarked position in the first half.

And, even though Dubravka had denied NGolo Kante and Tammy Abraham had missed the target after being played in by Jorginho, Bruce deserves applause for the way he sent up his players for one last corner in a bid to win the game when he could easily have settled for a point.

Ritchie’s delivery was cleared initially but Allan Saint-Maximim’s cross into the danger area was perfect for Hayden to move between two blue shirts to nod down and inside Kepa’s bottom left corner in the fourth minute of stoppage-time.

The celebrations illustrated how Newcastle knew they had won it, and when Dubravka came off his line to gather a ball into his area soon after, the victory was confirmed; ending the wait for a first win since December 21, and avoiding a third home defeat in a row in the process.

Ritchie said: “The character’s brilliant, this is a really good result. We’ve been fantastic all season as a whole, the shape, the desire to keep a clean sheet. The longer the game goes on we know it’s going to get stretched. We have players on the pitch to catch them on the counter.

“We get up the pitch, Joelinton gets a corner and we score from the second phase of that. The character of the team shone through to stick in like that.

“In the second half, if anyone looked like winning it was only going to be Chelsea. They’ve got players of such high quality in every area but we close the gaps, worked for each other and made them play from side to side. The back three I thought defended fantastically and as a team overall we defended really well.

“Even a 0-0, we’d all have patted ourselves on the back for a job well done in keeping them out. We’d have been frustrated because we didn’t create a lot. You’ve got to respect the fact they’ve got such good young players. They had a lot of the ball but we limited their chances and that’s how we’ve had a lot of success over the last few years.”

As for Ritchie himself, who was introduced inside 12 minutes because Jetro Willems suffered a suspected knee ligament injury in a collision with Callum Hudson-Odoi, he felt fine and delighted to have been part of such a momentous win on his first league outing since August.

“Adrenaline got me through,” said Ritchie, who suffered ankle ligament damage in a tackle from Leicester’s Hamza Choudhury.

“I didn’t expect to come on so early. You’ve got to be ready to come on. It’s disappointing for Jetro to get the injury.

“It’s been tough when you’ve been out injured, but I’m not fit and healthy and the team’s in a good position so hopefully we can both kick on.”