Newcastle's fixture against Tottenham was delayed on Sunday afternoon after linesman Ian Hussin sustained an injury.
Hussin, who was running the line, signalled to referee Robert Jones that he had a problem around halfway through the first-half at St James' Park.
The match was then halted for several minutes as changes were made with fourth official Darren Bond eventually swapping positions with Hussin, who could be seen grimacing on the sidelines.
The delay in proceedings gave both teams an opportunity to take on additional instructions from their benches as Bond was given a small window to warm up.
Neither Newcastle nor Tottenham had managed to find a breakthrough before the delay and they continued their in their efforts to do so after the restart.
It was the hosts who found the breakthrough just before the half-time interval through Harvey Barnes, who produced a slick first-time finish after being teed up neatly by Lloyd Kelly.
Barnes' strike was the perfect tonic following a frustrating few days on Tyneside for the Magpies, who were unable to add to their squad on transfer deadline day.
Long-term target Marc Guehi was expected to head north following weeks of negotiations with Crystal Palace, only for the Londoners to stand firm on Newcastle's top summer target.
And there was further frustration on deadline day itself when Nottingham Forest refused to entertain the idea of selling former Manchester United winger Anthony Elanga following an eleventh hour approach from their Premier League rivals.