Anita Hails Non-Stop Magpies

By Tom Easterby

Midfield dynamo Vurnon Anita was delighted to help get Newcastle United back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace.

Papiss Cisse's injury-time header from a Hatem Ben Arfa cross gave the Magpies maximum points in what was, for large spells, a close contest with Tony Pulis' 17th-placed side.

"It was very important, of course," Anita told nufc.co.uk, having turned in an assured display against the relegation-threatened Eagles.

"Last week we lost against Fulham away and today, at home, we wanted to give the fans something and we're thankful for Papiss, that he scored in the last minute and we won the game

"I thought we were good, we had a lot of the ball, they kept on backing off and we had to create the chances.

"It was really tight, but I think we did well. We created chances and we didn't score earlier, but we are happy that we won."

Saturday's victory was the second time in as many home games that United have hit last-gasp winners in front of the Gallowgate End, after Loic Remy's strike secured all three points against Aston Villa last month.

And Anita believes the back-to-back late wins on their own patch exemplify the togetherness and never-say-die attitude of the Magpies.

"We keep on believing and we keep on fighting until the end. It showed against Aston Villa and it showed today as well," he said.

"It can only be good that we can keep on putting pressure on the opposition to win the game."

The diminutive Dutchman also reserved special praise for the near-50,000 United supporters who roared their team to victory, revealing that the vocal encouragement from the stands played a big part in turning one point into three in the dying moments.

"It was very good," said Anita.

"They kept on believing and cheering us on as well. We're happy that we scored the late winner - you saw how crazy everybody went."

Anita also believes that Cisse, whose headed clincher was his first Premier League goal from open play this season, will be buoyed by his weekend performance as his side prepare to face Everton at St. James' Park on Tuesday night (7.45pm kick off).

"He's a striker and he wants to score, it's also good for his confidence, so we are very happy that he scored today. We need him as well against Everton because it's another hard game - we need everybody, but also Papiss," he continued.

"I think they (Everton) are a good side. They want to play football and so do we, so it's going to be a hard game.

"We must recover very well now, and win the game on Tuesday against Everton."

To buy a Newcastle United shirt with Vurnon Anita's name and number on the back, click here.