Joe Allen is targeting more goals in an attempt to maintain Liverpool's hunt for a top-four finish after firing his first strike of the season against Newcastle United on Monday night.

The Wales international registered his fourth goal for the club from close range in the 70th minute of play to put the game beyond John Carver's visiting side and seal three crucial points at Anfield.

Emre Can's cross was missed first time by Allen; however, the No.24 was afforded a second swipe at the ball when Michael Williamson failed to clear his lines and the Liverpool man lashed home in front of the Kop.

Earlier, Raheem Sterling had danced his way in from the left-hand side to clip a curling effort beyond the reach of Tim Krul and set the Reds on their way to a ninth victory in 13 Barclays Premier League fixtures since the New Year.

Arriving hot on the heels of an FA Cup quarter-final replay triumph over Blackburn Rovers, the win over Newcastle has further banished memories of consecutive defeats against Manchester United and Arsenal, according to Allen.

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And he has vowed that Liverpool will keep the pressure on their rivals for a Champions League place, after Brendan Rodgers' side edged to within four points of fourth-placed Manchester City in the standings.

"When you come off the back of two defeats and two disappointing performances, I think the result is probably more important than the performance," Allen told Liverpoolfc.com. "It was another clean sheet and three points - you can't ask for much more than that.

"It was great to score. It's obviously something that I've said I need to add more to my game and so to do it tonight, to give us that two-goal cushion, it was an important goal for the team. I can be really pleased with that.

"Our job now is simple: we have to keep piling pressure on the teams above us. We have to take care of our business. I think the other teams understand that we're going to do everything, so they can't slip up because they know that we're on their tails.

"That's why tonight, playing later than everyone else, it was important that we bridged that gap and we can look forward to a great game at the weekend as well."

Lucas Leiva anchored the midfield to perfection on the night, prompting Allen to roam further forward up the field and make his mark in a more advanced role than previously seen throughout the current campaign.

Asked if he felt he had more freedom to make an impression in the Newcastle tie, Allen responded: "Certainly, yes. It was a position I played during the majority of my time at Swansea, so it's one I know well.  

"It gives you more license to get involved further up the pitch, so hopefully I can be more involved when I do play that position, in creating and scoring goals."

Up next for Liverpool is a trip to Wembley to face Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday - and Allen insists inflicting defeat on Newcastle will act as an added boost for the side heading into the weekend's showdown.

"[The win is] brilliant for our confidence," said the 25-year-old. "We can't wait. To have an occasion at Wembley is great, but we appreciate that it's only the semi-final and that there's a lot of work to be done.

"But with tonight's win and performance, we can got there confident that we can get ourselves through and get back there for another game in the final."