Manchester United defender Jonny Evans scored at both ends during the opening 45 minutes as his side trail Newcastle United 2-1 at Old Trafford this afternoon.

It took visiting Newcastle just four minutes to break the deadlock, thanks largely to United goalkeeper David de Gea. Demba Ba's shot from 25 yards out did not appear to be that dangerous but the Spaniard failed to hold his effort and James Perch was on hand to convert the rebound from close range.

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Rather than sitting on their lead, Newcastle continued to push forward and almost doubled their advantage with 15 minutes played. Fabricio Coloccini knocked the ball down on the edge of the area for Ba, whose goalbound drive was headed off the line by Rio Ferdinand.

Despite their pressure though, the Magpies were pegged back 10 minutes later. Javier Hernandez managed to free himself following a goalmouth scramble to shoot from eight yards out. His effort was parried by Tim Krul, but Evans was on hand to tap in from close.

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Just three minutes later though Newcastle where back in front in bizarre circumstances. Back in a more familiar defensive role, Evans only succeeded in turning a shot from former Man United defender Danny Simpson beyond his own goalkeeper. However, it looked as though the Irishman's blushes had been spared when the linesman raised his flag for an offside against Papiss Cisse. That prompted a conversation between referee Mike Dean and his assistant, who eventually concluded that the ball had come off Evans and not Cisse, meaning that the goal stood.

The visitors could have been even further in front after 39 minutes, but Sylvain Marveaux's free kick from the edge of the area struck the crossbar before being cleared to safety.