On the day Newcastle United revealed a slower version of their Blaydon Races anthem, the team on the pitch produced a performance every bit as lumbering.

When the match ball burst in stoppage-time, it was symptomatic of the deflating mood that would soon descend on St James’ Park. At least, that was, after the home masses had let their feelings be known with a chorus of boos. 

It was just as well that this game also marked the unveiling of the club’s new pour-your-own beer pumps, for the locals needed something to numb the pain of a second defeat in a week. On this evidence, there will be plenty more.

The sight of head coach Matthias Jaissle breaking the glass on the emergency option and throwing Dan Burn up front in the closing stages told of Newcastle’s desperation, as well as the absence of a workable Plan A. Come the end, there was just one shot on target – and that was from a defender.

Unai Emery’s Villa, by contrast, had a plan. They also had better players, including match-winner Johan Manzambi. Remarkably, the visitors are still below Newcastle in the table, not that they will be for too much longer.

Newcastle missing out on the signing of Manzambi was a sliding doors moment in their summer. It was among the reasons why Eddie Howe headed for the one marked ‘exit’. Had Manzambi and Victor Munoz – the Spaniard who defected to Liverpool – signed, Howe would likely have still been in charge. Sliding doors and, now, a team sliding towards the bottom three. That is the harsh reality of their current plight. 

It is easy to see why Manzambi was so desired, though. The midfielder, 21, was the game’s star man and scorer of its only goal. Not that he had to be so great to convert a free header from six yards – for that he had the pinpoint cross of Joao Gomes to thank and, more so, the failure of defenders Sven Botman and Lewis Miley to react to his presence in the goalmouth.

The moments that followed exposed the fragility of Newcastle’s confidence. Manzambi netted in the 36th minute and the hosts were fortunate not to enter the break at 2-0 down or even worse. They lost shape, energy and ideas. It was like watching a boxer lose his legs after the first punch.

Emiliano Buendia hit the post at the end of a back-to-front offensive that was devastatingly simple in its execution – pass, pass, chance. It infuriated Jaissle, who yelled at Joe Willock for not stopping the move at source on the edge of Villa’s own penalty area. The midfielder protested his innocence, in a manner to suggest he believed the job of closing Gomes belonged to a team-mate. That is never a good sign and was reminiscent of the abdication of responsibility for the goal just minutes earlier.

Jaissle had demanded his team come out swinging in response to Monday’s 4-1 defeat at Coventry, and they did, albeit with a little too much fight on occasion. The ferocity of Botman’s tackle on Nicolas Jackson needed 60 seconds of attention from Stockley Park, who eventually deemed the on-field yellow sufficient. It was a borderline red. Joelinton was also booked during the same passage for a typically robust challenge on Johan Manzambi, requiring Villa’s medical team to divide their attention.

Still, here was proof of a team ready to scrap for each other, and that resolve did at least extend until the very end, when they threatened to nick what would have been a barely deserved equaliser. What was missing throughout, however, was quality and cohesion.

Marquee summer signing Matias Fernandez-Pardo remains without a goal and was hooked on 57 minutes after another subdued outing, while it was centre-back Botman who drew the only save from Zion Suzuki with a shot on the turn shortly after the break. The others in attack repeatedly ran down blind alleys.

These two clubs have long been kindred spirits in their attempts to storm the Premier League's elite. But whenever they have lowered the drawbridge, the following season has invariably seen them thrown back in the moat. It is Newcastle, you feel, who are set to sink even deeper this season.