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Cape Town - Newcastle United winger Matt Ritchie celebrated his 28th birthday on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.
Ritchie’s 76th-minute corner was headed in by Jamaal Lascelles to secure a second win of the season for the Magpies.
"I’m delighted with the three points, more than anything else," he told his club's official website. "We need to keep racking those points up and continue to improve on what we’ve been doing.
"We’ve worked throughout the week, on being compact – as always – and I think today it kept us in the game in the first half.
"In the second half, we were able to be a bit more counter-attacking. We soaked up the pressure and got up the pitch a few times, and had the final pass been a bit better we maybe could have created a few more chances.
"I don’t think there was a lot between the teams, if I’m honest. In the Premier League, it only takes a second for something to happen, but throughout we had a really good shape about us, and a really good mentality to the way we wanted to play.
"It shows in the result, and the performance, that we’re getting better week after week, and hopefully we can continue to do that."
