STOKE-ON-TRENT // Demba Ba, the Newcastle United striker, gave Stoke City a taste of what they missed out on with a hat-trick as the Magpies won 3-1 to move within a point of second-placed Manchester United.
The Senegal international would have been a Potters player in January as he had already agreed a move from Hoffenheim before the club pulled the plug on the move after he failed their medical.
Ba struck twice in the first half to give his side a comfortable lead and, although Jonathan Walters pulled one back with from the spot with 15 minutes remaining, Newcastle restored their two-goal cushion with a penalty of their own.
Alan Pardew, the Newcastle manager, praised his striker, who joined West Ham instead of Stoke last season, and believes there is more to come from Ba.
"I don't think there is any animosity between Demba and this club," Pardew said, concerning Ba's failure to sign for the Potters in January.
"He did a great job at West Ham and I brought him to Newcastle and he has been absolutely terrific. He doesn't miss a day's training.
"Don't think this is a one-off from him; his link-up play, his all-round ability and his finishing.
"He is always on the move in the box and if you do that you are going to score goals and that is why he got his first two. And it showed sheer confidence to hit a penalty like that."
When it came to defending set pieces striker Leon Best was employed to good effect at the back to combat their opponents' aerial power while Gabriel Obertan occupied a high, wide position to ensure there was always an attacking outlet.
That provided the platform for Ba to do what he does best at the other end and Newcastle's 12th-minute opener would not have looked out of place in the Stoke coaching manual.
Goalkeeper Tim Krul's kick was headed on by Best to Obertan, who found space behind left-back Marc Wilson. The Frenchman's inviting cross into the six-yard area picked out Ba who expertly twisted his body to head the ball back inside the near post.
The Magpies doubled their lead five minutes before the interval when Matthew Upson could only help Fabricio Coloccini's lofted pass on to Best on the right of the penalty area and he crossed low for Ba to tap in.
With still no sign of a breakthrough, Kenwyne Jones replaced Matthew Etherington for the last quarter and within five minutes Stoke pulled one back.
Upson's goalbound effort was headed away by Coloccini but Ba fouled Peter Crouch in the ensuing scramble and Walters fired home the penalty.
The recovery had barely began when it was ended as referee Mike Dean penalised Robert Huth for a push on Best and Ba drilled home from the spot.
"This is a really good Stoke side who have a strong squad and the way they play makes it difficult," Pardew said.
"You have to show real character and my players did that. They showed another side to them and it is important in the Premier League you have many sides to your team."
Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager, admitted his side were second-best for most of the game.
"The two goals they scored are not goals that have cut us apart and you have to hold your hand up and say it is really good play," he said.
"They are two poor goals for us. The first one is offside - when the keeper kicks it Leon Best is actually offside and comes back and wins it but we should have done better after that."
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
When is VAR used?
• Goals
• Penalty decisions
• Direct red-card incidents
• Mistaken identity
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The years Ramadan fell in May
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