Newcastle United moved a comfortable 10 points clear of the Premier League relegation spots on Friday with a deserved 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers thanks to a first goal in front of home fans for striker Chris Wood.
Newcastle had lost their previous three games, reviving fears they may be dragged back towards the drop zone as the season heads towards its finale.
But with the hosts dominating a surprisingly toothless Wolves, New Zealander Wood cleverly drew a foul from goalkeeper Jose Sa as he chased a Joelinton pass, before confidently thumping home the spot kick in the 72nd minute.
"I'm so pleased for him. He's a really willing lad. That will do wonders for him," manager Eddie Howe said of his January signing.
"We still have work to do and it brings us closer to safety, but we're not there yet," added Howe, warning against complacency even though Newcastle now look reassuringly-positioned in 14th on 34 points with seven games remaining.
Wood, whose former club Burnley are third from bottom, was thrilled to have broken his home duck and further banish the relegation spectre.
"It is fantastic. There is something about playing in front of St James' Park and we want to get them up for it. Luckily today we did," he said.
"It's nice to get my first goal here but ultimately we need points and to get out of the relegation battle, so I'm more delighted with the three points. We want this club to go to the next level. We need to get to 40 points and then build."
Wolves missed the suspended Raul Jimenez and did not even manage to touch the ball in Newcastle's penalty area in the first half. Only once, 10 minutes before the end, was Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka forced into action, diving low to save a Fabio Silva shot.
Defeat left Wolves eighth on 49 points, their outside hopes of a berth in next year's Champions League receding.
"We weren't aggressive, we didn't create our chances," disappointed manager Bruno Lage said of his team's insipid first half.
The margin of victory could have been bigger for Newcastle: Wood had an earlier goal disallowed, winger Allan Saint-Maximin shot over, and midfielder Bruno Guimaraes also went close in an overall man-of-the-match display.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Boston%20Strangler
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Stage 2
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08
The specs: 2018 Honda City
Price, base: From Dh57,000
Engine: 1.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 118hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 146Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.8L / 100km
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
