It is one thing to rock Manchester United back on their heels, one thing to achieve the rare distinction of scoring against Edwin van der Sar, but it is another thing entirely to contemplate stopping them at present. Few teams will cause them more problems than they encountered in the first half at St James’ Park last night, but by the end of a bitterly cold evening, normal service had been resumed, leaving one United to continue their quest for success on all fronts and the other to face up to an increasingly fraught battle against relegation.

Newcastle United, with only one win in 12 matches in all competitions, will desperately look for solace in the manner of their latest defeat, having threatened to add to the early lead they took when Peter Lovenkrands ended Van der Sar’s proud record of 14 consecutive clean sheets in the Barclays Premier League. Ultimately, though, with Wayne Rooney scoring the first goal and helping to make the second for Dimitar Berbatov, their opponents’ eleventh consecutive league victory was achieved with a little to spare, ensuring that any slight sense of consolation on Tyneside is unlikely to be felt at Anfield or Stamford Bridge, where they dream of denying the champions a third consecutive title.

The frustration for Newcastle, and indeed for the chasing pack, is that Manchester United, having briefly looked vulnerable — with Van der Sar seemingly traumatised by the goal he conceded to Lovenkrands and with Obafemi Martins causing problems for Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic — regained their customary composure. Cristiano Ronaldo’s best form continued to elude him, but a sense of calm was restored by Michael Carrick, a Geordie back on home turf, before Rooney began to impose himself on his return from illness.

Calm and composure are not words synonymous with Newcastle and, with typically slapdash defending contributing to both of the visiting team’s goals, the suspicion remains that things could get worse for them as they prepare to visit Hull City and Stoke City either side of home matches against Arsenal and Chelsea. They competed well for the most part, but there was a touch of desperation to their play. If it was not Steven Taylor, booked when he could have been punished more seriously for flying into Ronaldo and Carrick at the end of the first half, it was Martins, catching Vidic with an elbow, or Alan Smith, guilty of an ugly lunge on Ronaldo in the sixteenth minute.

By that stage, Newcastle were leading, the clock stopping at 1,311 minutes since the previous Premier League goal that Van der Sar had conceded, away to Arsenal on November 8. It was a grim goal, too, the goalkeeper deceived by the bounce of Jonás Guttiérez’s shot and spilling the ball into the path of Lovenkrands, who could not miss from six yards. Pausing only to verify that he was onside, Lovenkrands wheeled away to celebrate in front of the Gallowgate End, where the chants of “dodgy keeper” did not seem to be laced with as much irony as you might imagine.

The lead was no less than Newcastle deserved for a remarkably upbeat start, with Guttiérez a menace on the left wing and Martins performing with remarkable verve up front, but some of the old signs — erratic passing and a sense of anxiety in defence — remained. As John O’Shea traded passes with Park Ji Sung in the twentieth minute, the Newcastle defence parted, clearing the way for Rooney to turn away from Fabricio Collocini after a sublime first touch and beat Steve Harper with a left-foot shot with the help of a deflection off Steven Taylor.

The spat between Ronaldo and Taylor followed at half-time, with the pair trading half-hearted insults in the tunnel, but it was the visiting team who returned to the pitch with the greater conviction. Eleven minutes into the second half, Rooney’s penetrative pass forced Ryan Taylor into a blind panic. His awful back-header was pounced upon by Park and the loose ball was turned in by Berbatov.

Newcastle threatened in the closing stages, with Martins and Lovenkrands shooting from distance, but this time Van der Sar’s handling was secure. Lightning would not strike twice.

Newcastle United (4-4-2): S Harper — S Taylor, F Collocini, S Bassong, J Enrique — R Taylor (sub: A Carroll, 77min), A Smith (sub: K Lualua, 82), Gérémi, J Guttiérez — P Lovenkrands, O Martins. Substitutes not used: T Krul, Caçapa, D Edgar, N Butt, F Ameobi. Booked: S Taylor, Guttiérez.

Manchester United (4-4-2): E van der Sar — J O’Shea, R Ferdinand, N Vidic, P Evra — Park Ji Sung, D Fletcher, M Carrick, C Ronaldo — W Rooney, D Berbatov (sub: R Giggs, 90). Substitutes not used: B Foster, J Evans, R Eckersley, P Scholes, Anderson, C Tévez. Booked: Vidic, Ferdinand.

Referee: S Bennett.

Ugly scenes at half-time

This is the witty exchange that was overheard between Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Taylor in the players’ tunnel at half-time last night, shortly after the Newcastle United defender had been cautioned for a rugged challenge on the Portugal forward. Ronaldo: “You’re a rubbish footballer.” Taylor: “At least I’m not ugly.” Ronaldo: “But you’re a rubbish footballer.” Taylor: “I know, but you’re still ugly.”

The pair were split up by Rio Ferdinand and Steve Bennett, the referee, also intervened.