Newcastle send floundering Villa into bottom three
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Aston Villa's Joe Bennett, top, is tackled by Newcastle United player Mathieu Debuchy of France, during their Premier League soccer match at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Tuesday Jan. 29, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom (AFP) - Aston Villa's fortunes continued to plunge on Tuesday as they sank into the Premier League's bottom three following a 2-1 loss at home to relegation rivals Newcastle United.
Goals from Papiss Cisse and Yohan Cabaye put the visitors 2-0 up after 31 minutes and despite a valiant fightback sparked by a Christian Benteke penalty, Villa saw their run of league games without a win extended to seven.
Defeat further complicated life for Villa coach Paul Lambert, who had seen his side eliminated from both the League Cup and the FA Cup by lower-league opposition in the last week.
Newcastle, meanwhile, ended a run of five matches without victory as Alan Pardew's side climbed to 15th in the table.
