Newcastle v Tottenham player ratings: Barnes 8, Isak 7; Maddison 6, Brennan 8

Eddie Howe celebrated a “massive” win as Newcastle United put their transfer window woes behind them to condemn Tottenham Hotspur to a first Premier League defeat of the season at St James’ Park.

Chairman Yasir Al Rumayyan was among the crowd as the Magpies scrapped their way to a 2-1 victory with a squad weakened by injuries and departures sanctioned in order to comply with spending restrictions.

Newcastle are unbeaten in their first four games of the campaign, while Tottenham, who dominated for long periods, were beaten for the first time this term. Harvey Barnes’ smart finish gave the Magpies a 38th-minute advantage and Tottenham finally got their reward after the break when Dan Burn turned substitute Brennan Johnson’s cross-shot into his own net.

From that point on, there looked likely to be only one winner as Nick Pope’s goal came under repeated fire, but the visitors were hit with a 77th-minute sucker punch when substitute Jacob Murphy raced on to Joelinton’s through-ball and unselfishly set-up Alexander Isak up for the winner.

“It's massive, isn't it?” Howe said. “You need to win at any stage but I think when there's difficult moments – and this transfer window has been tough for us – then it's even more important.

“It just enables you to see things clearly and to move forward with positive momentum. Hopefully we can do that. Today was a tough game, but, as I said, we found a way to grind out a win and hopefully those are good signs for the rest of the season.”

Despite taking seven points out of a possible nine, Newcastle have yet to find anything like their top gear or the form that took them to a fourth-place finish the season before last.

“I don't think we're playing as we would like, I think that's obvious. I don't think we're playing with enough control and composure. But what we are showing is the defensive and aggressive qualities that you need,” Howe said.

“I have to say we're defending very well but on the ball, I think we've got a lot of work to do. Our attacking play has not kicked into rhythm yet.”

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou admitted his team had been punished for not killing the game off in a match where they registered 20 shots to Newcastle's nine.

“We controlled it for the most part, nullified most of the threats that Newcastle have,” he said. “I thought for the most part, we handled that really well and then gained the ascendancy in the game.

“We just needed to kill it off and it was a disappointing second half, where we switched off a little bit. But the game should have been all over by then so it's another sore one, unfortunately.”

Postecoglu was without club record signing Dominic Solanke and Brazilian forward Richarlison through injury and will hope they can bring a sharper edge in attack when they return.

“What I know is if we continue to play like that, we will get our rewards,” added the Australian. “The way we controlled the game was really pleasing. [It is] frustrating more than anything else. It's three good performances but not the results that reflect that.”