Owen at the double for Magpies in north east derby
Michael Owen, Mark Viduka, and Obafemi Martins have been the catalysts behind the Magpies' resurgence
Sunday, 20, Apr 2008 08:58
A brace from Michael Owen gave Newcastle United a 2-0 win over local rivals Sunderland at St James' Park.
The England striker struck early with a header and then scored a penalty to up his tally to 13 goals this season.
Magpies boss Kevin Keegan named an unchanged side, while Danny Higginbotham and Paul McShane replaced the injured Jonny Evans and Phil Bardsley for the Black Cats.
The home side made the perfect start when with their first attack of the game, Owen headed Geremi's cross into the corner on four minutes
Roy Keane's side were dismal in the first half and were restricted to ambitious long-range efforts, with Dean Whitehead blazing over their first chance on the half hour mark.
The Magpies felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Obafemi Martins tangled with McShane, but the referee waved play on.
But the home side were awarded a spot-kick on the stroke of half-time when Higginbotham was penalised for handball. Owen stepped up and fired into the corner for his sixth goal in six games, despite Craig Gordon getting a hand to his effort.
The visitors improved after the break and came agonisingly close to scoring first through Andy Reid's bending effort from 30 yards and then Kenwyne Jones' header which was well saved by Steve Harper.
At the other end, Gordon stood tall to parry Martins' header after a cross from Owen on 68 minutes.
St James Park erupted into a chorus of boos when ex-Magpie Michael Chopra came on for Daryl Murphy.
But despite the change, the home side held on to record a memorable victory and climb into joint 11th place.