Newcastle 2-2 Hull City: Papiss Cisse Comes Good for Alan Pardew in Comeback

Alan Pardew's tenure as Newcastle United manager was perhaps extended for another week as the once-prolific Papiss Cisse scored twice late on to claim a 2-2 draw against Hull City.

In an action-packed second half at St. James' Park, both sides' frailties were on display in a match where neither the hosts nor their visitors were ever at their brightest, though the goals were of the highest calibre, especially Hull's.

Nikica Jelavic beat Tim Krul with an early candidate for goal of the season, a remarkable bicycle-kick powering past the Dutchman to open Hull's account, and the Croat's effort was shortly followed by Mohamed Diame's strike from distance.  Both goals might have been stellar efforts, but they were also both helped along by questionable Newcastle defending, a plague that continues to afflict Pardew's side's performance.

Yet it was the forgotten man of Newcastle, the Senegalese international Cisse, who marked his return from injury with a clinical 20 minutes.

Cisse had been on for barely five minutes when he tucked in neatly from Cheick Tiote's weighted through-ball.  He was on hand to finish off a wonderful move three minutes from regulation, after Moussa Sissoko and Yoan Gouffran combined in one of Newcastle's best passages of play.

It was a result that Newcastle probably earned, after having the lion's share of the chances (26 shots to Hull's 10, seven on target to City's three, via Squawka).

Yet for great swathes of the game, Newcastle's end product was non-existent; the Magpies' cutting-edge was blunted, and their personnel were blunted, too.

Remy Cabella was lively in build-up but not the complete package, as has been the ascendant verdict of his previous Premier League outings.  Similarly, Emmanuel Riviere played to form, and was largely ineffective—Cisse was introduced at his expense.

Until Cisse's introduction, Newcastle's attacking output sorely lacked a spearhead.  Passes went awry, crosses went unmet.

However, as soon as Newcastle's No. 9 found his feet, his team did too.  The Magpies, especially in their 4-0 embarrassment against Southampton, simply haven't played to potential. But the veteran striker's presence galvanised Pardew's men in what was something of a renaissance, however brief.

It was something of a personal renaissance for Cisse, too, as he notched as many goals as he did all of last season in the space of 20 minutes on Saturday (per WhoScored.com).

For Steve Bruce and his Tigers, they have some reason to be disheartened after conceding two avoidable goals late on. 

For having limited chances throughout the clash, Hull were certainly more clinical than their hosts.  Yet when it mattered, City's defence—who have been suspect of late, though not as suspect as Newcastle's—was easily breached by the resurgent Cisse.

Their own attacking impetus was largely dulled throughout the game as well.  New arrival Abel Hernandez failed to impact the tie, and neither did Jelavic—until his stunning overhead kick sent the travelling fans into the stratosphere.

For both sides, it was a tie chock full of lessons to learn.  Both bosses will be looking for a defensive shore-up, as well as a more composed midfield display in the games to come.

The result leaves Hull comfortably in ninth, and Newcastle are almost out of the dropzone with three points to their name.

However, more crucially, the drama surrounding Pardew's job security is diminished—for the moment.

He had to rely on an old favourite to save his job on Saturday.  Whether the rest of his squad will rally around him—as they did for the beleaguered Jonas Gutierrez—is another matter entirely.

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