Joey Barton made a spectacular return to the Newcastle United starting line up as he helped his side to their first win in eight matches with a hard fought 2-1 victory over West Brom on Tuesday

Making his first start since being released from jail for a assaulting a team mate, Barton put Newcastle in an early lead from the penalty spot in the ninth minute. Obafemi Martins doubled the lead for the Magpies three minutes from the half time whistle and though West Brom tried to stage a come back late in the second half after reducing the deficit through Ishmael Miller, Newcastle hung on to claim vital three points from the tie.

The focus was fully on Barton who was named in the starting line up by Joe Kinnear and the former Manchester City midfielder looked determined to put behind his past misdeeds as he made a bright start to the game. Martins had the first real chance to break the deadlock early in the game when his shot was saved by Scott Carson but it was not long before the hosts took the lead.

Shola Ameobi found himself in possession inside the penalty area but a rash challenge from Ryan Donk left referee Mike Dean with no option but to award Newcastle a penalty. Though Barton was not scheduled to take the penalty kick, the 26-year old quickly stepped up to take his chance and managed to slot the ball past Carson to put Newcastle in the lead.

The visitors were enjoying some possession and looked sharp in the midfield but were lacking the creativity to create any real chances. And when they did manage to break past the Newcastle defense on a rare occasion, keeper Shay Given pulled off a brilliant save to deny James Morrision after Robert Koren had played the midfielder through.

The game looked all but over for West Brom in the 42nd minute when Martins headed home Habib Beye's cross to double Newcastle's lead just before half time. However the Baggies came out on the attack in the second half and finally managed to hit the back of the net in the 65th minute when Miller raced forward to meet Koren's long ball before slotting the ball past Given.

The visitors stepped up the pressure in a desperate search of an equalizer but the Newcastle defense hung on to claim only their second victory of the season that sees them climb out of the relegation zone.