Christian Atsu's strike aids Newcastle to open-up six-point lead in the Championship

Black Stars winger Christian Atsu made the most of teammate Matt Ritchie’s absence from the Newcastle starting XI scoring in the early minutes of a 2-1 win over Cardiff City.

Poor defending allowed Atsu to fire Newcastle ahead in the third minute, and Frenchman Yoann Gouffran scored their second shortly before half-time.

Aleksandar Mitrovic found space in the Cardiff penalty area before teeing up Atsu for an easy finish.

Moments before half-time, Gouffran’s low drive gave Newcastle the two-goal advantage their dominance of the game deserved.

Cardiff sparked hopes of a comeback when substitute Peter Whittingham scored with 13 minutes left.

However, Newcastle held-on to move six points clear at the top of the Championship table.