Newcastle head coach Steve McClaren has said he will keep faith with under-fire goalkeeper Karl Darlow if Rob Elliot does not recover from illness in time to face Arsenal on Saturday.
Darlow, who made his league debut for the club at West Brom on Monday after Republic of Ireland international Elliot suffered a stomach bug, was at fault for the game's only goal when he allowed a Darren Fletcher effort to squirm through his grasp.
Elliot remains a doubt for the trip to the Emirates Stadium, but McClaren said he would have no qualms about turning to his understudy again.
"In the first half, he made a terrific save from James Morrison low to his right which kept the score at 0-0," he said.
"We had a thousand set plays against us, he dealt with that very well, and it's just one of those things that happen.
"Karl Darlow is a very good goalkeeper and I have every confidence in him."
McClaren paid tribute to former Newcastle goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek, a huge favourite at the club in the 1990s, after his death at the age of 47 this week.
Srnicek, who suffered a cardiac arrest while out jogging in his native Czech Republic, had been put into an induced coma.
His life support machine was switched off after scans showed he had irreversible brain damage.
"When you see the sad news of Pav, you think how life can be just a second away from ending," McClaren said.
"It's really sad. Sport and football are terrific events, great theatre, there's great debating, it's great on a Saturday, but when things like that happen to Pav, it puts it really into perspective.
"It's absolutely devastating to lose anybody, but especially a character like Pav at that age is really, really sad.
"Our condolences go to his family and everybody who has been around him."
