Newcastle United 1 Stoke City 1
John Carver and Mark Hughes obtained their pro licence coaching qualifications after studying alongside each other on the same course. Several years later they both scored top marks for clever, game-changing, use of substitutes but Hughes's smart late tactical switch from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2 ensured Stoke City's manager departed with a deserved point.
By cancelling out Jack Colback’s opener, Peter Crouch’s 90th minute equaliser deprived Carver of a first home win as Newcastle United’s interim head coach.
It seemed harsh on a man whose desire to succeed Alan Pardew on a longer term basis dictates he regards every game as an audition yet Stoke merited some reward for dominating possession.
Stoke enjoyed the bulk of the first half but failed to test Tim Krul until the brink of half time. A flash of superb skill from Steven N'Zonzi and a fabulous Stephen Ireland cross following the midfielder being played onside by Vurnon Anita combined to provide Mame Biram Diouf with a headed chance well saved by Krul.
Newcastle’s ability to switch the play in a split second ensured Hughes’s side could never relax. Yet petrified as Stoke’s defence evidently were whenever Moussa Sissoko drove forward at formidable pace on the counter-attack or Massadio Haidara and Sammy Ameobi launched rapid attacks down the left, Asmir Begovic remained relatively untroubled.
Indeed the closest Carver’s men came to breaking the deadlock during the opening 45 minutes was the early moment when Begovic’s reflexes proved equal to Remy Cabella’s header following his connection with a Sissoko cross. A subsequent opening created by Cabella losing Marc Wilson and cueing up Ayoze Pérez resulted in the young Spaniard sending a shot whizzing fractionally wide.
If there was enjoyment to be derived from watching Ireland’s clever low passing, Marc Muniesa’s ability to play from the back and Colback’s intelligent, invariably incisive industry, there were far too many obvious balls.
Some slightly fussy refereeing from Kevin Friend hardly helped the contest flow and it seemed typically pedantic for the referee to book Ireland for a ball-winning tackle on Colback which looked a decent challenge.
The mildly interesting rather than exactly magical tone continued into the second half. Aware something need to change, Carver introduced further attacking pace in the shape of Papiss Cissé and Gabriel Obertan. He did not have long to wait before seeing his decisions vindicated.
Both Cissé and Obertan were involved in the move with concluded with Sissoko laying the ball off to Colback whose sliced left foot shot went in off a post.
Already aggrieved that Colback had escaped a yellow card for clattering into Victor Moses a couple of minutes earlier, Stoke’s bench looked far from amused.
Ireland's wonderful chipped finish soon defied Krul but he was fractionally offside. Time had begun to run out for Hughes's team. Peter Crouch replaced Ireland, Obertan missed a sitter, Krul did well to divert Jonathan Walters' late shot and then survived a scare after Mehdi Abeid played Mike Williamson into trouble and almost allowed Walters to equalise.
Newcastle failed to heed the warning. Crouch’s arrival had seen Hughes alter his formation to 4-4-2 and he, too, was about to have his judgement vindicated.
When Geoff Cameron crossed Crouch rose above everyone to direct a splendid header across Krul and into the bottom corner.
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