Newcastle United v Chelsea half-time update

Newcastle led for most of the first half as they look to condemn Chelsea to their third defeat in a row in an entertaining clash in the bitter cold north-east.

Chris Hughton named a new central defensive partnership in the shape of Sol Campbell and Steven Taylor, while his captain Kevin Nolan was taken ill and Shola Ameobi replaced him to partner top scorer Andy Carroll up front.

For Chelsea it was the expected side given all the injury problems, but what screamed out when it comes to both sides is how inexperienced their benches are - which could be vital later in the game.

Newcastle almost took the lead in the first minute when a Taylor header was saved and Ameobi put the rebound into the side netting. But the St James' Park faithful did not have to wait long to see their side take the lead when on five minutes a catalogue or errors for Chelsea allowed Carroll to put Newcastle ahead. The Chelsea midfield gave the ball away and then a error in communication from Alex and Petr Cech presented a simple tap-in to Carroll for 1-0 to Newcastle.

The home side have looked lively as they search for only their third win at St James' Park this season, with the powerful duo of Carroll and Ameobi causing real physical problems for Alex and Branislav Ivanovic.

As the half wore on Chelsea looked more and more dangerous. On 24 minutes Nicholas Anelka had a header cleared off the line as they looked better going forward than in defence. It certainly looks like it is going to be a long afternoon for Ashley Cole as boos ring out every time he touches the ball - most likely due to his high-profile break-up with a certain Geordie lass who is regarded as the 'Queen of Tyneside'.

Newcastle defended pretty well after they took the lead but Chelsea look likely to score, but the home side have also looked capable of increasing their lead at any time. On 41 minutes a flick-on from Carroll was only inches away of putting Ameobi in and if Newcastle are to get a second then it looks highly likely it will come from one of those two.

On the stroke of half-time Chelsea came back into the game, a lovely move saw Salomon Kalou waltz into the penalty area and then his shot took two ricochets to fly past Tim Krul.

Given how dangerous both sides have been looking throughout the first half then more goals should be expected in the second 45 minutes.