Newcastle United's Top 6 Performances so Far This Season

There is no doubt about it: The 2011-12 season has been a fantastic one for Newcastle United and, with Sunday's close win over Norwich, things just keep getting better.

As this wonderful season has played out for the Toon, there have been a number of stand-out performances by the Geordies. Here I've outlined the top six from a wealth of great games for Newcastle United this season.

Sunderland 0-1 Newcastle United

We'll start off here with an obvious choice: Newcastle's early-season derby victory over Sunderland.

The game may not have been the greatest spectacle outside of the fact that it was a derby game; however, a victory over Sunderland is always welcomed. 

If there is one great moment to take from this game, it has to be Ryan Taylor's match-winning free-kick—a powerful strike in the 62nd minute that condemned Sunderland to a loss and led, eventually, to another nine games in an 11 game unbeaten run (including the draw versus Arsenal the week before).

Newcastle United 3-1 Blackburn

Newcastle's 3-1 victory over Blackburn in late September acted as a coming out party for Demba Ba, a man now considered a Premier League star, and for that reason alone it makes this list.

Ba scored his first three Newcastle goals in this game, in a performance that captivated and electrified the 46,236 fans packed into St. James' Park. This was the first of two hat-tricks in a short span for Demba Ba and there's good reason to believe his second will also make this list.

Stoke City 1-3 Newcastle United

Well, I kinda gave this one away on the last slide, but it was inevitable that this big performance from Demba Ba against Stoke City would make the top six as well.

Though it wasn't in front of the St. James' Park faithful this time, Ba's big game was reason for celebration, as this was the game that really proved that Ba's recent hot streak was real.

Newcastle getting the win on top of that to move them into third was great too, as it showed that a place in Europe in the near future wasn't too much for the club to hope for.

Newcastle United 3-0 Manchester United

Newcastle's 3-0 drubbing of long-time enemies Manchester United back in early January is pretty much the headliner of this list, and rightly so. Having been tortured by the Red Devils for the best part of a decade, with little by way of retaliation in between, this surprising 3-0 victory had to feel good.

The game triggered memories of that famous 5-0 victory over Man U back in 1996 and, though it doesn't quite eclipse what happened on that great day, the game is still memorable enough for the club to have released an official DVD of it that fans will watch for years to come. 

Newcastle United 2-1 Aston Villa

Though it started off as just another game at St. James' Park, an injury to Leon Best made sure that this win over Aston Villa was much more than just that. Leon Best's loss turned out to be Papiss Cissé's gain, as the new Geordie No. 9 made his debut in thrilling fashion, with a goal to boot.

Cisse's appearance in the first half alongside Demba Ba (who also found the back of the net) really improved the significance of this victory, as it was an inkling of the bright future the Senegalese pairing will have together on Tyneside.

Toon fans should make sure they remember this game going forward, as it was the first taste of what will eventually be one of the Premier League's greatest strike partnerships.

Newcastle United 1-1 Sunderland

It feels wrong for me to put a 1-1 draw against Newcastle's fiercest rival on this list, especially considering that a win was expected, but I can't help but do it just for the magical equalizer from Shola Ameobi in the dying minutes of stoppage time.

The game was full of the traditional derby-day aggression, with the passionate Toon Army making themselves heard all throughout the game.

It may have been a scrappy affair, but the outcome of seeing Sunderland miss out on their most coveted victory of the season was worth it.