Everton's miserable start to the season continued as Hatem Ben Arfa's stunning strike gave Newcastle a 1-0 win at Goodison Park.
The Frenchman unleashed an unstoppable left-foot shot from outside the box past goalkeeper Tim Howard on the stroke of half-time, sealing Everton's fate.
Momentum was the key for the Toffee's who came out of last week’s pitch battle with Manchester United with their heads held highest.
But a bullet from Ben Arfa stopped any signs of the season’s recovery dead in its tracks as Newcastle ran out deserved 1-0 winners at Goodison Park.
If David Moyes’ players bemoaned bad luck in their underwhelming start to the year, they could have no complaints this week as poor performances all over the pitch contributed to a wretched afternoon for the Blues.
Moyes, missing the talismanic Tim Cahill went with Jermaine Beckford as his lone striker supported by Marouane Fellaini.
And doubters of the lower league predators’ ability to cut it at the top level will be feeling mighty justified after Beckford spent 45 minutes chasing shadows in the Newcastle third.
Newcastle, as expected, came to Goodison Park for a battle, but Chris Hughton’s players found the opening exchanges were not exchanges at all, as Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton enjoyed an unchallenged run of park.
And it was the Magpies who had the best chance to get the scoring underway as Jose Enrique stretched his legs on the overlap, his cross picked out Wayne Routledge who headed over from a great position.
That early warning did little to spur David Moyes’ team into action as sloppy misplaced midfield passes became a feature of their play.
A tough tackling Cheik Tiote made an impressive debut and proved the perfect foil for Barton who was freed up to smother the work of Mikel Arteta.
Everton’s frustration and in particular that of Jermaine Beckford was evident in the striker’s wreckless lunge on Steve Harper which resulted in a yellow card and the keeper being stretchered off after 34 minutes.
As the first half looked like petering out to it’s ugly conclusion, the largely anonymous Hatem Ben Arfa provided the game’s first and only moment of class.
Given too much space to turn by John Heitinga, the young Frenchman unleashed a thunderbolt which flew into Tim Howard’s top left corner, leaving the American no chance.
David Moyes reacted to the Frenchman’s 44th minute stunner by making two half time substitutions, Yakubu replacing Beckford and Coleman on for Hibbert.
But the changes did little to improve Everton’s cutting edge as Blues normally neat approach to goal remained largely reliant on balls in toward the head of Marouane Fellaini.
James Perch did well for the statisticians as he picked up his obligatory booking and made it 5 in 5, the most booked man in the league sliding in late on the most fouled man in the league, Steven Pienaar.
Newcastle were denied the chance to put the game beyond Everton after what appeared to be a stonewall penalty was waved away by Andre Marriner.
Kevin Nolan through one on one with Tim Howard was scythed down by substitute Seamus Coleman who got no where near enough of the ball and too much of the Newcastle midfielder.
Everton only really came to life in Manchester United time with Leighton Baines the architect of some stoppage time chances.
But the Blues misery was confounded when Yakubu saw a shot rebound off the post and back into the beaten keepers arms after being picked out in a crowded box by Steven Pienaar.
And in the dying seconds Fellaini had arguably Everton’s best chance when a neat cross from Arteta picked him out on the six yard box.
The Belgian’s misfire though was characteristic of Everton’s afternoon as the Toon Army held out for three invaluable points.
David Moyes said a poor team performance had cost Everton the game refusing to single out any single players for criticism.
He said: “I think a lot of our big players didn’t turn up today.
“We didn’t function as a team and obviously that’s what’s cost us.
“I can understand the fans frustration after watching a performance like that, I’d have been booing.”
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Everton (4-5-1): Howard, Hibbert (Coleman 46), Baines, Jagielka, Distin, Arteta, Osman, Pienaar, Heitinga (Bilyaletdinov 73), Fellaini, Beckford (Yakubu, 46)
Subs (unused): Mucha, Neville, Gueye, Barkley
Newcastle (4-5-1): Harper (Krul, 34), Coloccini, Enrique, Nolan, Williamson, Barton, Carroll, Routledge, Perch, Tiote, Ben Arfa (Gutierrez, 83)
Subs (unused): Campbell, Lovenkrands, Taylor, Smith, Ameobi
Goals: Ben Arfa, 44
Yellow: Beckford, Perch, Fellaini, Nolan, Enrique
Red:
Ref: A. Mariner
Assistants: S. Ledger (plain), M. Yerby (chq)
Attendance: 38,019
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