A black Christmas was only narrowly averted by Newcastle United. To lose once to Derby County this season can be regarded as careless but twice would have sent dark clouds scuttling back across St James’ Park. The familiar icy embrace of humiliation was avoided yesterday by three slender minutes and the slightly thicker form of Mark Viduka.

Sam Allardyce should think twice before complaining too loudly about his reputation as a long-ball manager. Viduka’s second goal of the afternoon, which diluted the opprobrium of Newcastle supporters at the final whistle to disgruntled booing, was boot one, never mind route one, yet it prevented a volatile club from again slipping into crisis.

Shay Given’s desperate punt was diverted into Viduka’s path by Darren Moore, the Derby defender, and dispatched adroitly, but this was another fractured display from Allardyce’s team, inspite of his debatable contention that “our performance, in terms of chances created, was very, very good”. There was no argument with his “disappointment” at having “not won a game we should have won”. Newcastle are unbeaten in four matches, but after their visit to Wigan Athletic on Boxing Day, their next three league fixtures are against Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United and they have a testing journey to Stoke City in the FA Cup.

Having provided Derby with their only victory of a miserable campaign and four of their seven points, flimsiness is clearly a concern. Their minimalist defence, meanwhile, is a matter for the ages. “Basic defending has allowed the opposition to have two shots on target and score twice,” Allardyce said. “Sometimes there are signs that we can be more resilient and better and then all of a sudden it crops up again. We have to tidy that area up and make sure we don’t gift other teams and make life difficult for us.”

Paul Jewell, the Derby manager, had a similar gripe but, in the circumstances, his side’s resilience was commendable. The knee injury suffered by Claude Davis in the warm-up reduced the new manager’s pool of available players to 16, but self-pity was not an issue. Having grasped an early lead, when Giles Barnes collected a pass from Kenny Miller and shot low past Given from 22 yards, they battled manfully.

The feistiness was surprising in the context of Derby’s recent travails, even if they clearly have a fondness for inflicting despair on Geordies. Their sixth-minute goal was only the second away from home this season – Newcastle would not be spared further embarrassment – and their seventh in total, but they were encouraged by their hosts to find a rugged form of potency.

The first half was a conveyor belt of Newcastle chances – Barnes and Jay McEveley hacked efforts from the line, while Alan Smith was denied a penalty when impeded by Tyrone Mears – but Viduka’s equaliser did not sharpen instincts. After tenacious work by Smith on the fringes of the penalty area, the Australia international mustered a rare example of clarity.

Newcastle’s defending was scarcely more proficient. Dim-witted in the build-up to Derby’s opener, they were sluggish in all the key moments when a second might have been prevented; a thumped pass forward, the headed flick from Steve Howard, the touch off Gary Teale’s torso, the ease with which Miller glided past the lightweight David Rozehnal to score.

When Howard, a boyhood Newcastle fan, crashed a shot above the crossbar shortly afterwards, the mood veered towards the venomous – Joey Barton’s substitution was cheered – but Jewell’s delight was tempered by his own team’s frailties. “When you come so close to winning but concede a late goal in the manner we did, it’s a kick in the teeth,” he said.

“It was absolutely shambolic defending by us, but that’s been a trait of ours all season and so has been a lack of goals at the other end. That’s why we are bottom of the league. I’m a realist. I know we’ve got it all to do, but all I can ask is that they give me all they have got.”

Jewell acknowledged that drawing a line under a sequence of seven consecutive defeats was “psychologically a big thing” and for all their difficulties, the spirit of his players did not waver. “I asked them to use losing Claude beforehand as a spur, because everything seemed to be going against us,” he said. “We played with pride, passion and quality at times.”

Newcastle United (4-4-2) S Given 6 H Beye 5 D Rozehnal 3 Caçapa 5 C N’Zogbia Y 6 O Martins 5 J Barton 5 N Butt Y 7 J Milner 6 A Smith 4 M Viduka 7 Substitutes: S Taylor 5 (for Rozehnal, 59min), D Duff 5 (for Butt, 68), Emre Belözoglu (for Barton, 75) Not used: S Harper, Gérémi Next: Wigan Athletic (a)

Derby County (4-4-2) S Bywater 7 T Mears 7 D Moore 7 D Leacock 6 J McEveley 6 G Teale Y 6 G Barnes 7 S Pearson 8 E Lewis 7 S Howard 7 K Miller Y 7 Substitutes: C Fagan (for Lewis, 77), B Feilhaber (for Teale, 81) Not used: L Price, R Earnshaw, L Holmes Next: Liverpool (h)

Referee A Marriner
Attendance 51,386