No need for Nolan to change - Hughton

Newcastle midfielder Kevin Nolan will not be ordered to rein himself in after adding a red card to the 10 yellows he has received this season.

The 26-year-old marked his third appearance in a black and white shirt with a 43rd-minute dismissal for an awful challenge on Victor Anichebe which left his side battling to salvage a point at St James' Park.

He will now face a three-match ban just when his new club needs him most, although caretaker boss Chris Hughton does not want to take away his competitive edge, saying: "Kevin is what he is. He is a competitive player, as are players like Nicky Butt and Steven Taylor."

He added: "It's disappointing that we lose him because he is a good player.

"I would say on the challenge itself that I didn't think there was any intent or malice.

"We accept that he did catch the lad. Kevin has apologised to the lad and also to David Moyes, and it's one we need to pick ourselves up from and go on from here."

The midfielder's departure came after Peter Lovenkrands had fired wide when in on goalkeeper Tim Howard and Ryan Taylor had curled a free-kick just over the bar.

But the Magpies had spent the first half hour defending for dear life with Steve Harper saving from Joseph Yobo and Jack Rodwell as Everton launched an early blitz.

Hughton was delighted by the spirit his 10 men showed, as manager Joe Kinnear would have been as he watched on television at home having been discharged from hospital on Saturday.

Kinnear's assistant said: "We knew it was going to be tough to start with against a very good Everton side, although they were missing a couple of players. But having gone down to 10 men so early, the resilience and the character we showed, this group of lads deserved what they got."