Premier League: Fulham 1 Newcastle 0

Newcastle United lost 1-0 to struggling Fulham at Craven Cottage in a performance which got life after Andy Carroll off to a gloomy start.

A 67th-minute strike from former Newcastle player Damien Duff was enough to condemn the Tyne and Wear side to their first defeat of 2011.

Alan Pardew’s team shocked their own fans and the wider football world by selling prize asset Carroll to Liverpool for an astonishing 35 million pounds on Monday.

And the performance of Carroll’s former cohorts in the Newcastle attack hardly pointed towards a bright future.

His replacement target man Shola Ameobi was forced off the pitch after just thirteen minutes with a fractured cheekbone after connecting with Steve Sidwell’s elbow as they jumped for a high ball.

And this proved to be the only incident of note in an uneventful first half.

But the home side seized the initiative after the break and attacked with more verve.

The first clear chance of the game fell their way five minutes after the restart. Clint Dempsey scuttled down the left wing and fired a low drive at Steve Harper’s legs but Damien Duff skewed the rebound wide.

Newcastle soon fashioned a decent response in the form of a teasing cross swung in from the left by Danny Guthrie, but Leon Best headed just over Mark Schwarzer’s bar.

Just after the hour mark Harper was forced into a one-handed save at his near post, as Dempsey dribbled into the area and unleashed a testing shot on target from 12 yards.

Damien Duff was the man on hand to torment his former club on 67 minutes, latching onto Danny Murphy’s long ball over the top and calmly slotting past the onrushing Harper.

Gael Kakuta came close to sealing the victory on his debut for the west London team, but his shot from 10 yards sailed straight into the chest of Harper.