Newcastle were on a high before the international break following victories over Chelsea and Tottenham and it was like they'd never been away with thes straightforward win against Norwich.

They were back into their stride after just two minutes when Bradley Johnson failed to clear Yohan Cabaye's corner and Loic Remy headed home at the far post for one of the easiest goals he's ever likely to score.

Despite that the Magpies were subdued and Anthony Pilkington came agonisingly close to levelling with a looping header that had Tim Krul well beaten but spun away from the far post.

It was Newcastle who grabbed the second seven minutes before the break with sweeping move that began and nearly ended with Shola Ameobi. John Ruddy could only spill his powerful header into the path of a grateful Yoan Gouffran.

"You can't afford to be two down at halftime and one down in the first couple of minutes," said Norwich boss Chris Hughton.

"Ultimately the goals we conceded in the first half cost us but we rallied well after the break."

The second half was a lacklustre affair with neither side creating any chances of note until a series of corners led to go Leroy Fer grabbing a goal for Norwich with 10 minutes to go.

"I thought we looked a little bit tired in the second half with the players coming back from the international matches," said Alan Pardew who dismissed talk of the Champions League.

"The only agenda today was to win because it was an easy game to lose. I'm as pleased today as I was when we beat Spurs."