A Kevin Nolan strike in the second minute and a Ryan Taylor wonder goal on 21 minutes proved enough to give Newcastle their third consecutive Championship win.

Nolan gave his side the perfect start when he latched onto a floated ball over the top from the right flank to slip the ball under Darryl Flahavan from ten yards out.

Despite the scoreline Palace were far from outplayed. Clint Hill came close on three minutes when he jumped highest in a crowded box to head over the bar, before Freddie Sears had a shot blocked from eight yards out on the angle on 11 minutes. 

Flahavan was called into action soon after when he had to react quickly to a low free kick, while Ambrose saw a 25 yard effort fly over the bar.

The Palace keeper then had to be at his most alert when Nolan managed to contort himself to direct a header at goal and Flahavan tipped it over the bar.

For all of Newcastle's dominance in the midfield, at the back they looked suspect and Palace exposed their weaknesses on 17 when a good  ball from Hill found Lee, who knocked down for Ambrose to volley ten yards out, which forced Steve Harper into a decent save down to his right. 

The away side doubled their lead on 21 minutes. Right winger Ryan Taylor had drifted into the middle, picked the ball up 25 tards out and curled a beautiful curled effort over a helpless Flahavan.

Palace though came closest on 25 minutes when Ambrose picked out an unmarked Lee, who aimed a deft header to the far post but it ran just wide.

The second half did not live up to the first ,but Palace should have pulled a goal back within four minutes of the re-start.

Ambrose's corner initially looked too low, especially for N'Diaye but the young Frenchman did well to stoop low with a diving header that somehow went wide.

He then had another good opportunity moments later when he brilliantly intercepted a cross field pass and carried on into the box. However, as he prepared to shoot Coloccini did very well with a solid recovery tackle.

But Newcastle always looked dangerous and Ameobi should have extended his side's lead when he was all alone 15 yards out, but lazily blasted the ball over the bar.

Substitute Sean Scannell should have done better with a free header on 80, while Ambrose curled a free kick over the bar miutes later.

With three minutes to go Lee saw a downward header comfortably saved by Harper but despite some spirited pressure in the final stages Palace could not find a way through.

Watch the video of the after match press conference on Palace Player now.

Attendance: 20, 643 (Away: 3,559)

The Teams

There is only one change from the game at Ipswich on Tuesday night. Julian Speroni sits out and Darry Flahavan is given his first start of the season. The Palace no.1 was injured in a collision with two Town players at Portman Road.

Crystal Palace: 12. Darryl Flahavan; 3. Clint Hill; 4. Shaun Derry (Cpt); 5. Paddy McCarthy; 6. Jose Fonte; 7. Darren Ambrose; 8. Neil Danns (11. Victor Moses, 67); 16. Freddie Sears (14. Sean Scannell, 67); 19. Alan Lee; 20. Danny Butterfield; 33. Alassane N'Diaye

Subs: 2. Nathaniel Clyne, 10. Nick Carle, 17. Matt Lawrence, 21. Kieran Djilali, 22. Johnny Ertl

Newcastle: 1. Steve Harper, 2. Fabricio Coloccini, 3. Jose Enrique, 4. Kevin Nolan, 7. Danny Guthrie(30. Nile Ranger, 65), 12. Danny Simpson, 16. Ryan Taylor (22. Nicky Butt, 65), 17. Alan Smith, 18. Jonas Gutierrez (20. Geremi, 89) , 23. Shola Ameobi, 27. Steven Taylor

Subs: 10. Xisco, 25. Kazenga LuaLua, 26. Tim Krul, 28. Tamas Kadar,