Pepe Reina off as Reds defeated

A Papiss Cisse double saw 10-man Liverpool slip to a 2-0 defeat against Newcastle United at the Sports Direct Arena on Sunday. The Magpies opened the scoring against the run of play on 19 minutes when the Senegal forward headed home from Hatem Ben Arfa's centre. The goal came in the aftermath of strong penalty appeals from the Reds were waved away after Andy Carroll's goal-bound header appeared to be blocked on the line by Danny Simpson's raised arm. Cisse netted his second just before the hour-mark, tapping in from close range after the ball broke kindly for him in the box to seal victory for the home team. Liverpool had Pepe Reina sent off for an altercation with James Perch in the dying stages, and having used all three substitutes, Jose Enrique was required to play in goal for the 10 men as Newcastle claimed the three points. The pre-match team news confirmed three changes to Kenny Dalglish's starting XI, with Newcastle old boys Carroll and Craig Bellamy joining Jonjo Shelvey in an attack-minded line-up. Enrique also began against his former club. For Bellamy, it was his first appearance since Liverpool's last journey to the north-east to face Sunderland on March 10 due to injury. The Reds journeyed to the Sports Direct Arena aiming to end a sequence of back-to-back Barclays Premier League defeats and close the gap on the sixth-placed home side to five points. The visitors began assertively and Shelvey had the game's first opportunity when his curler from Carroll's lay-off deflected off Yohan Cabaye and looped onto the roof of Tim Krul's net. Next, Martin Skrtel stooped to head a Steven Gerrard free-kick over the bar from inside the six-yard box. With Liverpool's triumvirate of ex-Newcastle men roundly booed at every opportunity by the home crowd, Carroll looked set to quell their decibel levels when he got the better of centre-backs Mike Williamson and James Perch before going down under the challenge of Krul with nine minutes played. Referee Martin Atkinson, however, deemed the No.9 to have gone to ground too easily and awarded him a yellow card. Nonetheless, the visitors were soon swarming towards the home side's goal once more and Krul was forced to tip Bellamy's deflected cross onto the top of the woodwork. From the resulting corner, Carroll's downward header was blocked on the line by what TV replays suggested was the arm of Simpson. Pepe Reina had been little more than a spectator in the opening exchanges, but on 19 minutes he found himself picking the ball out of the back of his net as Newcastle scored with their first meaningful attack. Ben Arfa twisted and turned before floating a cross to the back post over Skrtel, allowing Cisse to guide a deft header into the far corner of the net. The goal was harsh on Liverpool, but they could have drawn level within 10 minutes when Bellamy's low cross was deflected up into the air by Williamson. Carroll rose above Krul, but could only guide his header onto the top of the net. The Reds were afforded a let off four minutes before the break when Cisse was picked out by Danny Guthrie's right-wing cross, but the striker sent his header wide of the far post. Dalglish's side had to survive another scare moment after the re-start. Guthrie was again the supplier, this time his centre was nodded against the base of the upright by Williamson. On 55 minutes, Gerrard's dangerous low pass into the box almost picked out the unmarked run of Bellamy, but the ball was an inch too far in front of the No.39 and Krul collected, before a positive surge forward from Shelvey resulted in the youngster striking into the arms of the Newcastle goalkeeper from the edge of the box. But on 59 minutes, the hosts doubled their advantage when Cisse notched his second of the afternoon. Demba Ba's pass into the area missed its intended target of Ben Arfa, but rolled through for Cisse, who side-stepped Reina and slotted beyond Skrtel on the line. Luis Suarez almost mustered an instant riposte for Liverpool when he gained possession ahead of Krul on the edge of the box, but Perch stuck out a leg to prevent the Uruguay forward from hitting the back of the net. Dalglish sent on Stewart Downing, Dirk Kuyt and Jordan Henderson as the Reds sought to reduce the deficit, but Reina's late red card for an altercation with Perch required Enrique to play the final exchanges in goal on an afternoon to forget in the north-east.