Darren Bent scored the only goal of game against Newcastle Getty

Tottenham Hotspur 1, Newcastle United 0

NEWCASTLE UNITED and Alan Shearer were plunged closer towards relegation after Darren Bent fired Tottenham Hotspur to victory at White Hart Lane.

Bent struck after 24 minutes to leave Shearer without a win in his first three games as temporary manager, and he now has five games to keep his club in the Barclays Premier League.

Spurs enhanced their own hopes of qualifying for the Europa League but had Michael Dawson carried off with a serious-looking ankle injury.

Shearer put his faith in homegrown youngster Andy Carroll, who earned a point against Stoke last weekend after coming off the bench, and he was paired in attack with skipper Michael Owen. Shearer had other striker options on the bench, with Obafemi Martins recovering from his groin complaint and Mark Viduka returned fit.

Spurs club captain Ledley King felt a twinge in his knee late in the week and was replaced by Michael Dawson, while Jermaine Jenas was out with a hamstring injury and Wilson Palacios returned from suspension to replace him. Striker Jermain Defoe was back on the bench after injuring his foot at the end of January.

The visitors headed into the clash without a victory in six games, although they were encouraged by going unbeaten in their last half dozen league matches against Spurs.

Owen's early run also gave cause for optimism, with the Magpies skipper offloading to Jonas Gutierrez, whose shot was blocked by Dawson.

Shearer fielded three centre-backs which meant Damien Duff, in front of Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni, found himself as a left-back when Spurs pushed forward.

He went shoulder to shoulder with compatriot Robbie Keane 10 minutes into the game, with the Spurs forward getting a dangerous cross in that needed to be cleared by Steven Taylor.

Darren Bent had the first genuine effort on goal, with Steve Harper equal to his shot after Luka Modric had slipped the ball inside from the right.

It was Bent who grabbed the opener, in the 24th minute, following a pacy Spurs counter attack.

The hosts started the move in their own penalty area when Heurelho Gomes had saved Kevin Nolan's shot and hurled the ball out to Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Modric took over and angled a pass towards Keane, with Sebastien Bassong's clearance heading to Bent, who finished at the second attempt from a tight angle after Harper had saved his initial effort.

Spurs fans taunted Shearer, who remained stone-faced as he had before the goal.

There were worrying scenes just after the half-hour mark, when Dawson landed heavily and was carried off on a stretcher with his ankle strapped up. It looked serious, and Spurs boss Harry Redknapp got up from the dug-out to console his centre-back.

The stoppage did not break Spurs' momentum and they were unfortunate not to add a second when Modric's shot deflected off Bassong on the line for Harper to claim easily, with the Newcastle defender knowing little about his part in denying a goal.

Bent also cleared the crossbar with a header just before the break.

Centre-back Steven Taylor was replaced at half-time by Alan Smith but the substitution did little to tighten Shearer's defence, with a last-ditch tackle needed from Habib Beye on Keane after Bassong failed to deal with a high ball.

Huddlestone tried to find his range with a couple of efforts and one of his free-kicks struck Bassong straight between the legs. The French defender recovered and bravely blocked Modric's shot when Keane laid the ball back to the Croatia playmaker.

Shearer's response was to bring on Obafemi Martins and Mark Viduka, with Nolan and Carroll making way. The two replacements joined Owen in a three-man attack.

Martins did have the ball in the net with a slick finish but Mark Halsey whistled for handball against the Nigeria striker.

Newcastle were open to the counter-attack and Aaron Lennon shaved the post with an effort, then Redknapp brought Jermain Defoe on, with the striker having recovered from a foot injury suffered in January.

Martins went over in the penalty area with seven minutes to go under a Jonathan Woodgate challenge, but Halsey waved play on while Martins also blasted over in the dying moments.