A Demba Ba hat-trick at the Britannia Stadium on Monday night gave Newcastle a deserved 3-1 win over Stoke.

The result lifts Newcastle up into third place in the Premier League standings, and continues the Tyneside club's unbeaten start to the season.

The Senegal international scored a brace in the first half, before Jonathan Walters converted a penalty in the second period to bring Tony Pulis' men back into the tie.

However, Ba completed his hat-trick on 81 minutes with a penalty of his own, and made it six wins and four draws from Newcastle's first ten games of the season.

Magpies boss Alan Pardew was understandably delighted with his team after winning the tricky fixture.

"We spoke before the game that on a pitch like this you're going to get a lot of balls in your box and you have to defend them and we did as a team tonight, tremendous spirit," Pardew told Sky Sports.

"I thought both penalties were a bit soft actually, but when it keeps going in there it's a tough decision for the referee. Everyone is pushing and barging.

"I was a little bit disappointed in the second half that we didn't control the game in the way that we should have. But you know the resilience of the team showed another side to us. We don't get 22 points without having different sides to our game.

"No one's won here. All the big teams have come and no one has won. It goes to show how good they are at what they do. Stoke had a strong wind behind them in the second half which helped them.

"They are a very, very good side and a side that we've got to beat at home if we can. They are a top team and will finish in the top ten.

"The disciplines we have in the team came through. We got a break here and there and we've ended up winning. We're coming into a tough run of games, but we're in a good position," he concluded.

Newcastle now take on Everton at St James' Park on Saturday, and will hope to build on this excellent result.

By Gareth McKnight

[ad_pod id='writer-1' align='right']