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Goals by Andrew Johnson and Danny Murphy put an end to Newcastle's recent revival in fortunes as Fulham ran out 2-1 winners at Craven Cottage.

Big money summer signing Johnson netted in the first half only to see Shola Ameobi restore parity for Newcastle soon after the break.

But Murphy's spot kick on 66 minutes proved the difference between the two sides as victory saw Fulham leap out of the bottom three and into 10th place.

Newcastle headed in the game off the back of two victories and had been showing signs of progression under the guidance of new manager Joe Kinnear. But despite a decent performance, defeat in west London saw them drop back in the relegation zone.

Johnson opened the scoring in typically clinical fashion on 23 minutes, taking full advantage of some calamitous defending from Claudio Cacapa, whose attempted headed clearance struck his defensive partner Fabricio Coloccini before falling kindly to the Fulham striker.

Johnson did the rest, firing confidently past Shay Given to register his third goal in a Fulham shirt and put his side into the lead.

Ameobi levelled on 57 minutes, although there was a dose of good fortune to his goal as replays later showed the striker to be in an offside position when the ball fell to him in the penalty area.

But, as all good strikers should, he played to the whistle and made no mistake with his finish from close range.

Parity was to last just nine minutes, Cacapa clipping Johnson in the box to give Murphy the chance to rifle home from the penalty spot.

Newcastle rallied late on, substitute Michael Owen missing a gilt-edged chance with 12 minutes remaining to grab a point for Newcastle, but Fulham held on continue their impressive home form this season, which has now gleaned 13 points from a possible 18.

Fulham enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, with Given having to be alert from the first whistle to keep the hosts at bay.

The Irishman was brought into action on eight minutes to deny Jimmy Bullard a close range stab at goal before Zoltan Gera's header 10 minutes later forced a smart stop out of him.

In between those chances, Murphy saw a first time shot from outside the area fly just wide of the post and Gera had gone wide with a towering far post header.

But Newcastle had chances of their own to trouble the scorekeepers, Obafemi Martins proving a constant threat with his pace and power. The Nigerian saw two well-struck efforts go narrowly adrift of the target before Damien Duff hit the outside of an upright with a crisp strike just before the break.

Ameobi's strike ignited the Magpies and they could easily have gone ahead moments later, Joey Barton unleashing a 25-yarder that Mark Schwarzer had to be at his best to keep out.

Newcastle appeared to have Fulham where they wanted them, only for the penalty decision - which came against the run of play - to have a decisive impact on the match.

Owen was made to rue his late missed chance - when his miscued volley from six yards out actually ended up going away from goal - as Fulham held on for all three points to rocket up what is increasingly becoming a congested mid-table.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport