Newcastle 1-0 Leicester: Alan Pardew delighted with match-winner Gabriel Obertan as Toon boss enjoys first Premier League win and owner Mike Ashley celebrates in the dressing-room

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It was a day of firsts at St James’ Park – a new giant screen which became detached and delayed kick-off by an hour, a maiden Premier League victory for under-fire Alan Pardew and the surprise appearance of owner Mike Ashley in the home dressing-room.

Ashley has not seen the team win since May and made straight for the changing quarters on full-time where he congratulated the manager by whom he has stuck during their recent struggle.

Faith is also what Pardew has had to show in match-winner Gabriel Obertan. For if the 60-minute wait for the match to get started seemed like an age, it was nothing compared to the 32 months since Obertan last scored a top-flight goal.

Gabriel Obertan scored the winner for Newcastle as they beat Leicester 1-0 at St James' Park

It was, however, very nearly the match that wasn’t. There was serious doubt about the fixture going ahead when canvas surrounding the 60-metre monitor – making its debut - became dislodged by high winds at around 1pm.

It took two hours to resolve the issue and, with thousands of supporters held at the turnstiles amid safety concerns, kick-off was delayed to 4pm.

But that wasn’t before midfielder Cheick Tiote hobbled from the warm-up and declared himself unfit to play – at this point, Pardew could have been forgiven for wishing another gust to come along and postpone the contest.

Come the end, though, the Newcastle boss was puffing his cheeks in relief, the win meaning he had avoided the ignominy of a club record eight without victory from the start of a Premier League season.

The identity of his saviour was even more satisfying. Obertan – a player signed on the say-so of Pardew – had become a figure of fun on Tyneside after three ineffective seasons. But it was the 25-year-old who had the last laugh yesterday as his 71st-minute strike – his first since February, 2012 – gave his manager a much-needed three points.

And Pardew said: ‘I was so pleased Gabby got the goal and it capped a great display.

‘He’s a player who needs to build his own self-confidence. He’s been terrific for us this season. I had a feeling he could still be a great player. He’s still young but he needs to deliver.

‘He’s a player where the environment needs to be centred on him. When we finished fifth he played a big part and I never forgot that. Being young, sometimes you have to wait.

‘But right now he warrants his place in the team.’

The French midfielder cut inside from the left wing and fired a right-foot shot into the bottom corner with 20 minutes to play

Obertan's goal earned Newcastle their first victory of the Premier League campaign but kept them in the bottom three

Obertan celebrates his winner at St James' Park after scoring the only goal of the game in the 71st minute

The locals, with an extra hour of ale inside them, could have been restless following the pre-match farce and an opening hour in which their side had at times toiled.

But their patience and support was rewarded when Obertan, gliding infield from the left, fired beyond Kasper Schmeichel from 20 yards, albeit with the aid of a slight deflection.

Pardew, whose team remain in the bottom three, went on: ‘It’s been difficult, we’ve been playing under huge pressure. You can’t get away from that in this city.

‘We really can self-harm sometimes with the pressure we put ourselves under. But when we win we have euphoria and I thought the stadium was terrific – I can’t thank the fans enough.’

Under pressure Newcastle manager Alan Pardew (right) celebrates Obertan's winner at St James' Park

Gabriel Obertan cut in from the left wing to score his winning goal but spent most of the game on the right at St James' Park, as his heat map (below) illustrates - CLICK HERE FOR MATCH ZONE FROM ST JAMES' PARK

Newcastle defender Fabricio Coloccini had a brilliant chance in the first half but failed to hit the target as he shot wide

Newcastle defender Paul Dummett (left) attempts a header at goal during the Premier League clash at St James' Park

Leicester's Jamie Vardy maintains control of the ball despite a challenge from Newcastle's Ayoze Perez

Of the delay, he added: ‘The TV looked a bit vulnerable when I walked in, and I thought “how’s that appeared?”.

‘But Nigel (Pearson) was very calm about it all and I thank him for not making a big deal about it. In the end it didn’t affect us.’

Newcastle should have been ahead early on when Obertan charged fully 50 yards before feeding Papiss Cisse who drew back for the unmarked Fabricio Coloccini - the defender somehow populating Leicester’s penalty area – but he stabbed wide.

City finished the half much the stronger and, when Tim Krul lost flight of Marc Albrighton’s cross-cum-shot, the ball cracked the upright, the goalkeeper’s blushes ultimately spared.

Paul Konchesky gifted a chance to Cisse after the break when the forward seized upon his back-pass, rounding Schmeichel only to fire into the side-netting.

Obertan, though, made no mistake when he climaxed a swift breakaway to win the match.

And visiting boss Pearson reflected: ‘We had promising situations but at times our quality let us down.

‘We’ve been done on the counter-attack from what was a promising situation for ourselves.’

Pardew, meanwhile, admitted that he was, for once, looking forward to Match of the Day.

‘I tend to watch even when it’s nasty and horrible, it’s important to keep up to date with what’s being said about your team,’ he said. ‘But I will watch it with a smile tonight.’

That winning feeling was certainly worth the wait, for Pardew, Ashley and Obertan.

The game was delayed by an hour after a problem with the new electrical scoreboard at St James' Park

The new electronic scoreboard came loose, forcing the Premier League clash to be delayed until 4pm

Supporters were kept waiting outside St James' Park until 3.15pm as the ground remained closed due to the scoreboard problems