A CONTROVERSIAL Morten Gamst Pedersen goal piled the pressure on Newcastle boss Graeme Souness as former club Blackburn snatched all three points at St James' Park.

Referee Howard Webb failed to spot that the midfielder had punched the ball into the net with his left fist as he tried to get on the end of Shefki Kuqi's 74th-minute header.

It was hard on the Magpies, who looked the more likely winners for much of the game with Albert Luque forcing a fine save from Brad Friedel and Alan Shearer, Lee Bowyer and Celestine Babayaro all going close.

Newcastle might have fallen behind after just three minutes when Jean-Alain Boumsong failed to get his head to Lucas Neill's cross, although two vital blocks prevented first Reid and then Paul Dickov getting in shots.

Newcastle's response was swift, and they would have been ahead three minutes later had it not been for the excellence of Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel. Michael Chopra found space down the right and pulled the ball square for Luque, whose leftfoot shot looked to be heading for the net before the American threw himself full length.

Steven Reid hammered a drive from distance high over Shay Given's crossbar after latching on to Celestine Babayaro's weak clearing header seconds later as the game continued at breakneck pace.

But Rovers should have been in front with 17 minutes gone when Titus Bramble failed to cut out Pedersen's cross and with Boumsong and Babayaro woefully out of position, Dickov fired towards goal . . . only for Given to make a superb save.

Newcastle's football going forward was fluent until it came to the final ball, but they continued to look uncertain at the back, especially down the flanks with Reid and Pedersen causing problems with their pace.

Disaster struck for the home side on 74 minutes when Shefki Kuqi climbed high to head Lucas Neill's cross back across goal where Pedersen appeared to bundle it into the net with his hand, although referee Webb awarded the goal and ultimately Blackburn the points.