Pardew: Scoreline unjust

Alan Pardew felt West Ham's 4-2 defeat against Newcastle was not a fair reflection.

The Hammers dominated for long spells at Upton Park, but were ultimately undone by a Michael Owen hat-trick.

Pardew admits mistakes contributed to his team's downfall, but he was generally pleased with the performance.

"We've gone about the game in a real structured way to really get at Newcastle," said Pardew.

"We did that for almost the whole of the game, but three or four mistakes and we found this scoreline.

"At 2-1, we had three massive chances to get an equaliser, but through the post, Shearer and Given, they kept us at bay.

"If one had gone in the place would have erupted and it would have been very difficult for Newcastle to take a point, let alone all three.

"I am not going to be standing hear talking negatively as we were fantastic today. It's a shame it ended up 4-2 as I don't think that reflected the game at all."

Yossi Benayoun limped out of the action early in the second half, but Pardew is confident the Israeli playmaker will be fit for the busy festive period.

He added: "We've actually got the longest period to recover so I think he should be okay.

"He's such a crucial player for us. I felt he won a penalty at 1-1 and that would have put a different complexion on the game.

"He is a big player for us and I hope he will be okay."