Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe enjoyed a 48th birthday to remember as his side ended their long wait for an away win in style against Everton.
The travel-sick visitors had failed to win on the road in the Premier League since April.
But aggressive Newcastle started as they meant to go on at the Hill Dickinson Stadium by scoring the quickest goal of the season so far in the top flight.
Defender Malick Thiaw jumped ahead of Michael Keane to power a header past Jordan Pickford and net his first goal for the club from Lewis Miley’s in-swinging corner.
Though Everton rallied, initially, after going behind after just 55 seconds, the hosts only had themselves to blame for Newcastle’s second goal.
Not only did Everton defenders fail to clear their lines following some pinball inside the box, Pickford failed to keep out Miley’s effort despite it being hit straight at him.
David Moyes, unlike a beaming Howe, looked understandably furious on the touchline, but the Everton manager’s evening got even worse before half-time when Nick Woltemade added a third.
Tino Livramento clipped the ball down the line and Anthony Elanga hooked it across to the unmarked German, who nonchalantly lobbed Pickford from inside the area to score his seventh goal of the season.
Newcastle grabbed a fourth before the hour mark when Lewis Hall’s teasing cross was headed in by Thiaw at the back post.
There was still time for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to pull one back for Everton after the midfielder brilliantly controlled James Tarkowski’s ball over the line before slotting past goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
But it was always going to be a mere consolation as Newcastle leapfrogged Everton in the table and moved up to 11th place.
Newcastle analysis: Howe’s big calls pay off
This felt like a huge win for Newcastle – in so many ways.
Howe had grown tired of talking about his side’s issues away from home but, finally – following a 236-day wait – they delivered on the road in the Premier League.
The Newcastle head coach rang the changes following the midweek defeat in Marseille – and those calls certainly paid off.
Ramsdale, Miley and Elanga were among those handed rare starts while regulars like Joelinton, Hall and Woltemade also came back in.
Ramsdale may have conceded late on, but the goalkeeper was assured on his first league start in place of the injured Nick Pope and calm in possession.
Miley set up his side’s opener before making it 2-0 as he became the second-youngest Newcastle player ever to score and assist in a Premier League game.
And the rapid Elanga looked more like himself following a challenging start since his £55m move from Nottingham Forest.
Yet it was a change of mentality as much as personnel.
As Everton started to probe, after going behind so early on, Newcastle protected Ramsdale, with Dan Burn and Hall both making crucial blocks inside the box and even forward Woltemade getting back to cut out a cross from Jack Grealish.
Though Pickford ended up giving Newcastle a huge helping hand, crucially, Newcastle managed to double their advantage, which they failed to do when ahead on their travels against Marseille, Brentford and West Ham in recent weeks.
They did not look back from there as Everton crumbled.
No wonder the away end repeatedly sang about how they did not want to go home as the game drew to a close. This victory had been a long time coming.
