By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Managing Editor
At St. James' Park
Newcastle United 0
Stoke City 0
Newcastle United recorded their first clean sheet since the end of August but had to settle for a goalless draw at home to Stoke City in the Barclays Premier League.
The Magpies dominated proceedings at St. James' Park but were unable to find a way past Potters goalkeeper Jack Butland, who put in an outstanding performance to keep the hosts at bay time and time again,
Butland saved from Aleksandar Mitrovic, Ayoze Perez, Moussa Sissoko, Georginio Wijnaldum and Jamaal Lascelles, while Mitrovic also headed against the post on an entertaining afternoon.
But they were unable to turn their pressure into goals and picked up their seventh point of the season to date.
The game was less than four minutes old when Mitrovic cut in off the left flank, exchanged passes with Ayoze Perez and warmed the palms of Potters goalkeeper Jack Butland with a low drive.
United were dominating the early exchanges and Mitrovic had another effort blocked by Philipp Wollscheid before Chancel Mbemba headed the resulting corner wide of the target.
The Potters weathered the storm and should have broken the deadlock in the 17th minute when Charlie Adam whipped an outstanding left-footed cross through the hosts' penalty area.
Mbemba and Fabricio Coloccini were both unable to make contact to clear the danger and - thankfully - Walters failed to get a touch, too, as the ball skidded all the way through to safety.
But United came roaring back and Mitrovic glanced Moussa Sissoko's delivery past Butland but against the upright, with the England international stopper scrambling to gather the loose ball before Georginio Wijnaldum could pounce.
It was goalless at half-time but Perez attempted to change that early in the second period, working a yard of space for himself before curling a superb strike narrowly wide of the far post.
Wijnaldum was next to try his luck - dipping a 22-yard free-kick over the wall but being denied by the fingertips of Butland - before, at the other end, Rob Elliot pulled off a fine stop to keep out Walters' close-range header.
As with the first half, Newcastle were soon back on the front foot and Butland continued to enhance his growing reputation when he raced off his line to deny Sissoko, who had played a clever one-two with Wijnaldum to get into the box.
From the corner that followed, Mbemba rose above everyone at the near post but could only thump his header inches wide, with large parts of the stadium thinking it had hit the back of the net, rather than the side netting.
Butland proving to be an impenetrable force and on 59 minutes flew full-length to his left to tip away Perez's rising drive that looked destined for the back of the net.
With 20 minutes remaining Siem de Jong was introduced in place of Cheick Tiote, as the home side went searching for all three points.
And they almost grabbed it with time ticking away, only for Butland to brilliantly tip Sissoko's strike out of the top corner and behind to safety, before pulling off further heroics, denying substitute Jamaal Lascelles, who had headed powerfully goalwards.
Newcastle United (4-4-2): Rob Elliot; Daryl Janmaat (Jamaal Lascelles 83), Chancel Mbemba, Fabricio Coloccini (c), Paul Dummett; Moussa Sissoko, Vurnon Anita, Cheick Tiote (Siem de Jong 70), Georginio Wijnaldum; Ayoze Perez, Aleksandar Mitrovic
Subs not used: Freddie Woodman, Massadio Haidara, Yoan Gouffran, Florian Thauvin, Papiss Cisse
Stoke City (4-2-3-1): Jack Butland; Glen Johnson, Ryan Shawcross (c), Phillip Wollscheid, Erik Pieters; Glenn Whelan, Charlie Adam; Marko Arnautovic (Marco van Ginkel 88), Bojan Krkic (Ibrahim Afellay 59), Xherdan Shaqiri (Peter Crouch 90); Jonathan Walters
Subs not used: Jakob Haugaard, Marc Wilson, Stephen Ireland, Mame Biram Diouf
Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire)
Bookings: Newcastle United - Mitrovic (63); Stoke City - Wollscheid (63), Arnautovic (82), Adam (90)
Attendance: 47,139
