Burnley v Newcastle United player ratings: James Tarkowski 5, Matej Vydra 7; Joelinton 4, Allan Saint-Maximin 9

Stunning cameo from French attacker helps Magpies secure vital win in battle to avoid relegation

BURNLEY RATINGS: Bailey Peacock-Farrell - 7: In for only his second Premier League appearance with Nick Pope out injured and not called on to make serious save until 38th minute with point-blank stop to prevent Gayle scoring. No chance with either Newcastle goal. EPA

Matthew Lowton - 7: Had looping shot from outside of box turned over bar by Dubravka just after half-time and a solid showing defensively from the right back. AP

Ben Mee - 6: Not exactly over-worked by Joelinton and Gayle in the Newcastle attack but that all changed with introduction of Saint-Maximin and Wilson in second half. Reuters

James Tarkowski - 5: Headed Burnley’s first good chance well over bar then gifted Newcastle corner with misjudged Cruyff turn. Lucky not to give away penalty with dangerous high kick to deny Longstaff header and was turned inside out by Saint-Maximin for Newcastle’s second goal. Cleared Almiron shot off line late on. Getty

Erik Pieters - 7: Good performance by Dutch left-back up until first goal when Saint-Maximin and Murphy combined down his flank to level the scores. Getty

Johan Berg Gudmundsson - 6: Smart turn on edge of box in first half that drew foul from Clark and earn free-kick in prime position, that Brownhill wasted. Iceland winger was a handful down the right for Burnley without making any major impact. AP

Ashley Westwood - 7: Tremendous workrate in centre of park and helped Burnley take control of game in first half - in fact, right up until Saint-Maximin came on in the 57th minute. Good passing and movement throughout. Reuters

Josh Brownhill - 7: First effort on target from either side with flicked header from corner saved well by Dubravka after 15 minutes. Hit dreadful free-kick way over bar from great position on edge of box just before half-hour mark. Provided dangerous cross that Dummett almost turned into his own net. Booked for foul on Almiron. Getty

Dwight McNeil - 7: Helped make life very difficult for Murphy in first half although wasted chance to make it 2-0 when he fired first-time strike well over. Had shot tipped over bar 10 minutes into second half. Couldn’t handle Saint-Maximin in run-up to Murphy goal. Getty

Matej Vydra - 7: Given time and space to side foot Burnley into lead with his third goal in five games. Shot into side netting from tight angle with 20 minutes to go. Reuters

Chris Wood - 6: Good run and perfect pullback for Vydra’s opening goal and generally lead the Burnley line well, although never looked like scoring on this occasion. PA

SUBS: Joel Mumbongo - (On for Gudmundsson 90 +1') N/A. Reuters

NEWCASTLE RATINGS: Martin Dubravka - 8: Good stop from Brownhill header after 15 minutes but left badly exposed by his defence for Vydra goal soon after. Brilliant one handed save to prevent Dummett scoring own-goal just before half-time. Palmed looping shot by Lowton over bar just after break. Steady stream of Burnley balls into box made it busy day at office for Slovakian. PA

Jacob Murphy - 7: Started poorly at right wingback with control, positioning and tackling all letting him down and McNeil causing problems down his flank. Did produce one decent run and cross into box to provide chance for Gayle. Turned it all around with superb first-time finish into corner to level the scores just before the hour. EPA

Ciaran Clark - 6: At fault for first goal with poor clearing header at start of move then allowed Wood opportunity to provide cross for Vydra goal. Made amends with a couple of other important challenges to deny Burnley shots at goal but unusually shaky day for Irish defender. PA

Federico Fernandez - 6: Newcastle will be pleased to have him back in the centre of defence although the Argentine looked rusty at times on his return from injury. Reuters

Paul Dummett - 6: Determined sliding block on Vydra shot in opening five minutes but a far from convincing game for the Geordie defender and needed Dubravka to prevent embarrassing own goal. Reuters

Matt Ritchie - 5: Poor first half when distribution continually let him down but even on his poor days, Ritchie's determination and drive are exactly what Newcastle need in the side at the moment. Getty

Jonjo Shelvey - 6: Captain in absence of Jamaal Lascelles and struggled to lift his lacklustre teammates for most of opening hour. Lost midfield battle in first half although, like team as whole, was given lift by substitutions. EPA

Sean Longstaff - 5: Woeful miss-hit cross from right flew just over Burnley bar and had Peacock-Farrell back-pedalling furiously after 10 minutes. Should have earned Newcastle a penalty when Tarkowski kicked him in head late in first half. Embarrassing swing and miss with shot that could have put Newcastle 3-1 up. Getty

Miguel Almiron - 6: Non-existent as attacking threat in first half, improving marginally after break and benefitted from having Saint-Maximin alongside him in attack. Should have made it 3-1 but saw low shot cleared off line by Tarkowski. AP

Joelinton - 4: After his improved performance against Spurs, Brazilian was anonymous again although service from midfield was poor. Never remotely looked likely to score for a second match in a row and was hooked early in second half. AP

Dwight Gayle - 5: Had ball in net with flicked finish after 35 minutes but was fractionally offside, then denied equaliser by point-blank Peacock-Farrell save. PA

Allan Saint-Maximin – (On for Joelinton 57’) 9: Game-changing introduction for the Magpies. Fine run and pass supplying Murphy with chance to equalise, then surging attack from halfway line before fine low finish into corner that made it 2-1 six minutes later. A defender's worst nightmare when the Frenchman is in this form. Getty

SUBS: Callum Wilson – (On for Gayle 57’) 6: A welcome return from injury for Newcastle. Looked to be feeling his way back into action although made a couple of excellent runs that his teammates failed to pick out. PA

Jeff Hendrick – (On for Almiron 90+3’) N/A. PA

Newcastle took a giant step towards securing their Premier League survival with a vital 2-1 win at Burnley on Saturday.

Steve Bruce's side came from behind at Turf Moor to end their seven-game winless run.

Matej Vydra put Burnley ahead in the first half, but Jacob Murphy equalised and Allan Saint-Maximin grabbed the priceless winner.

Fourth bottom Newcastle are now six points clear of the relegation zone and hold a game in hand on third bottom Fulham.

"We've still got a long way to go, a lot of twist and turns as that's what the Premier League is," said Magpies manager Steve Bruce.

"For me, it's always been about the accumulation of points. There's a points tally you have to get to and we're creeping towards it. To come and win here is a big result for us."

The hosts took the lead after 18 minutes as Ashley Westwood pounced on a poor header from Newcastle defender Ciaran Clark.

Westwood played in Chris Wood and he pulled the ball back from the touchline for Vydra to net from close-range.

But French winger Saint-Maximin turned the game after coming on as a 57th- minute substitute, along with top scorer Callum Wilson, who made his first appearance since February 6 after picking up a hamstring injury.

Saint-Maximin surged down the right flank and drew three defenders towards him before pulling the ball back for Murphy to equalise in the 59th minute.

Five minutes later, Saint-Maximin produced a brilliant individual effort as he ran at the Burnley defence before driving his low shot past Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

"We've been without them for so long, you can see what they bring," Bruce said of  Wilson and Saint-Maximin's introduction. "We know when we have people like them in the team you can see the impact it has."

Burnley are seven points above the bottom three, but aren't certain of survival after just one win from their last eight matches.

Manager Sean Dyche was left to lament what he felt was a missed opportunity. "It was a strange kind of performance because it was a dominant performance but you have to change that into wins," he said.

"The biggest statistic you have got to get right is the scoreline. They have taken their chances but we gave the game away a little bit."