Back to business

Newcastle fans who made the trip up to St Mirren on Tuesday evening were rewarded with something that some of us suspected and feared we may not see again: Papiss Cisse wearing a Newcastle shirt - this one emblazoned with the Wonga logo. Despite the weeks of wrangling, brinkmanship and exile from the first-team squad, Cisse looked remarkably fresh and was immediately in the thick of the action, scoring our opening goal. It wasn't quite business as usual, mind - as .com pointedly noted, he wasn't caught offside once...

Big Lad hadn't recovered from Sunday's knock sufficiently to take part and continue his goalscoring streak, and the only other goal of the night against our fellow black and whites was a first in Toon colours for Mathieu Debuchy.

Other notable names on the teamsheet included HBA and Dan Gosling. The latter was heavily involved for the 65 minutes he played, but in his post-match interview the Silver Fox expressed disappointment that a deal with Crystal Palace had fallen through and gave the ex-Evertonian little hope that good pre-season performances could salvage his Toon career.

Meanwhile, Paul Dummett (who started) and Conor Newton (who came on as a sub) were afforded a warm reception by the home crowd in appreciation of their efforts on loan at St Mirren Park last season. There's every chance the pair will be allowed to leave temporarily again, and I'm sure the Paisley side would gladly welcome them both back.