Newcastle bore through to Uefa Cup
Roeder saw his side make it through to the Uefa Cup proper after a second-leg 0-0 draw
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Thursday, 24, Aug 2006 11:21
Newcastle ensured that they progressed into the first round of the Uefa Cup, shutting out Latvian side FK Ventspils in an uninspiring goalless draw at St James' Park to win the tie 1-0 on aggregate.
The result will have been a relief for manager Glenn Roeder whatever his team's performance with the Magpies disastrous exit from the Champions League in 2003 still fresh in the minds of the Geordie faithful.
On that occasion they had contrived to surrender the same 1-0 lead from the away leg to allow Partizan Belgrade to steal the lucrative qualification from them.
A recurrence of that nightmare never seemed likely as the Latvians lacked the guile to create any decent chances and the hosts took all the heat out the contest.
However Newcastle's inability to score the one goal that would have decisively buried the tie ensured that there was a slight edge of tension amongst the 30,498 fans into the dying stages.
James Milner came closest to easing those anxieties late in the second half when his fierce free-kick left Andris Vanins's goal shaken but intact as it crashed off the crossbar.
Damien Duff's energetic performance down the left side of midfield will also have given Roeder heart and, perhaps, even the belief that his side could go one better than their local rival Middlesbrough did in this competition last year.