Newcastle United 2 West Brom 1:Joey Barton wasted little time in further enhancing his once-shattered reputation with the Newcastle fans by scoring from the penalty spot after just 10 minutes to set his side on the path to victory against West Bromwich Albion.

Barton's opener was added to by Obafemi Martins' 42nd minute strike but before an Ishmael Miller strike made for a tense 25 minutes for the home support at St James' Park.

Barton, who many fans did not want to return after his suspension and jail term, went some way to making amends when kissing the club crest on his shirt in the face of vitriolic abuse from Sunderland fans in the Tyne/Wear derby defeat at the weekend.

His redemption appears complete now, though, after he demanded the opportunity to take the spot kick following a clumsy tackle on Shola Ameobi by Baggies defender Ryan Donk and laid the foundation for the win with a coolly struck penalty.

"We desperatley needed this tonight", said interim manager Joe Kinnear of his first win in charge, but his side rode their luck at times and had captain for the night Shay Given to thank for a string of excellent saves.

The win moves them into 15th but they could be back in the drop zone tomorrow if results go against them when the rest of the league take to the field.

The Baggies are a point ahead on 10 but could also be hauled further down the table tomorrow.

If anything, West Brom enjoyed the better of the possession as they passed the ball swiftly and accurately to leave their opponents chasing shadows at times.

But crucially, they lacked the cutting edge to really trouble the Magpies at the back, at least until their big moment arrived 10 minutes before the break.

Robert Koren expertly turned Jonathan Greening's pass into the path of Morrison to leave a flat-footed home defence in no-man's land, but as he has done so often in the past, Given came to the rescue with a fine save to preserve his clean sheet.

By contrast, Newcastle looked more than capable of adding to their tally as the returning Jonas Gutierrez, Damien Duff, Ameobi and Martins repeatedly  stretched West Brom.

Habib Beye skied a shot high over the bar after Ameobi had carved Mowbray's men open down the left with 37 minutes gone, but the Senegal international made amends within five minutes.

The full-back, supporting Duff down the right wing, skipped past Paul Robinson to drill a cross into the middle where Martins, with the help of a deflection off defender Jonas Olsson, powered a header home.

An open game continued in similar vein after the restart with Martins' pace a constant threat to the Baggies, but Iglesias Borja Valero and Greening pulling the strings at the other end.

Tony Mowbray made a significant change with 54 minutes gone when he replaced midfielder Chris Brunt with striker Miller, although the newcomer unwittingly blocked a goal-bound effort from team-mate Morrison two minutes later.

Morrison was proving a key figure as the Magpies laboured, but it was Koren who opened the door for Miller to drag his side back into the game, wrong-footing Fabricio Coloccini to allow the striker to round Given and slide the ball into the empty net.

He might have levelled within eight minutes had Given not reacted smartly when Morrison's free-kick rebounded to the striker off the defensive wall.

Substitute Xisco and Duff both passed up late chances to ease the anxiety, but their side managed to hang on.