Newcastle vs. Liverpool: Score, Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match

Newcastle United earned a vital win at St. James' Park in the Premier League on Sunday when they edged out Liverpool 2-0, helped by a poor refereeing decision.

Martin Skrtel deflected in a second-half own goal that proved decisive before Alberto Moreno had a goal wrongly ruled offside and disallowed, and Georginio Wijnaldum finished off the game in injury time.

The Magpies were the better side for much of the fairly poor contest, as they defended remarkably well, while Liverpool struggled to create going forward in a stark contrast to their 6-1 rout of Southampton in the Capital One Cup.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

Siem de Jong replaced Ayoze Perez for the hosts, while Daniel Sturridge started the game on the bench after his brace against the Saints.

The first half went almost as well as could be expected for Newcastle, who not only didn't concede but remained largely untroubled.

Liverpool started the brighter, as they controlled the ball and looked to get it into the box, but as the Chronicle's Mark Douglas noted, the Magpies steadily grew into the encounter:

The Reds should have taken the lead after 20 minutes, though, when a chance fell to Christian Benteke from a corner, but the striker could only send his poor effort skyward from close range.

Newcastle slowly but surely pushed forward with more regularity, and Papiss Cisse should have at least hit the target after winning a tussle with Nathaniel Clyne on the right, though the striker was rightly adjudged to have fouled the defender in the build-up anyway.

Cisse continued to be involved, and after ending a promising move with an overhit pass, he found himself on the end of the best chance of the half. Picked out expertly by Wijnaldum, the Senegalese forward's hesitation in pulling the trigger allowed the Reds to regroup, per Sky Sports Football:

The hosts finished the half as marginally the better side but once again passed up a promising opportunity as Chancel Mbemba headed over from Cisse's flick-on following Jack Colback's corner.

The Liverpool Echo's James Pearce was frank in his assessment of the Reds at half-time:

Newcastle began the second half as they ended the first, with Wijnaldum sending a couple of efforts wide, though captain Fabricio Coloccini was fortunate to escape a sanction after putting in a two-footed challenge on Jordon Ibe.

In a bid to turn things around, Liverpool threw on Sturridge and Adam Lallana, but soon after, the hosts found themselves deservedly in front when Skrtel deflected Wijnaldum's effort past the helpless Simon Mignolet. As Sky Sports Statto noted, the unfortunate own goal was a landmark for the Slovakian:

Sturridge was guilty of missing a good chance to score when Lallana sent him clean through, but the England striker dragged his poor effort wide of the target.

The Reds should have been level with 10 minutes remaining when Moreno cushioned an exquisite volley over Rob Elliot and into the far corner, but he was incorrectly flagged as offside. LFC Fans Corner shared the evidence:

A nervy end to the game ensued, as the Reds won a series of corners, but in the 92nd minute, Moussa Sissoko picked out Wijnaldum with a delightful pass and the Dutchman made no mistake in his one-on-one with Mignolet.

The win isn't enough for the Magpies to climb out of the bottom three, but it was nevertheless crucial after Bournemouth stunned Chelsea on Saturday.

Things don't get any easier for Newcastle, who play Tottenham Hotspur away in their next outing, but the Magpies will be encouraged by their performance here.

As for Liverpool, they welcome West Bromwich Albion to Anfield, where they'll need to regain the creative attacking spirit manager Jurgen Klopp has instilled in them.

Post-Match Reaction

Klopp was frustrated with his side's performance, per Agence France-Presse's Tom Williams, the Premier League and the Liverpool Echo:

Per Tom Rostance of BBC Sport, he added on Moreno's disallowed goal: "He [the linesman] would say that he should see it, it was pretty clear I think. Maybe we deserved a point, sometimes you need dirty points. But if one team deserved to win it was Newcastle."

Newcastle manager Steve McClaren was understandably elated with the result. According to Rostance, he told Match of the Day: 

"

It's absolutely huge, absolutely massive. Once or twice we've taken ourselves to the brink of crisis and clawed our way back and that's what we've done today. We worked hard, it is so tough to get a result in this league. We've crawled off the field, we've put in so much effort. That's what we need every week.

"

He added: "The harder you work the luckier you get. Everything evens itself out and it's about time we had some decisions."