Rampant Magpies see off Stoke
Owen was on the scoresheet for the Magpies
Wednesday, 16, Jan 2008 10:56
Newcastle United have moved into the fourth round of the FA Cup after beating Stoke City 4-1 in their third round replay.
United, buoyed by the news that Kevin Keegan has agreed to become manager, were in unstoppable form and Stoke could do little to thwart the onslaught.
Kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes due to the volume of supporters queuing to get in the ground to snatch a glimpse of a possible Keegan appearance.
The 'Messiah' did not disappoint, though his arrival at the back of the director's box was more low-key than many anticipated.
However the mood of optimism amongst the fans seemed to transmit to the players on the pitch and the Magpies were soon ahead thanks to Michael Owen.
A deep cross to the far post was met by James Milner and when Stoke failed to clear the danger Owen was on hand to tap home his fourth goal of the season from close range.
Midway through the first half Stoke midfielder John Eustace tussled with Emre in two separate incidents. First a rough tackle by Eustace on Emre did not get a yellow card and the Turkish international then went looking for retribution.
Emre bundled Eustace over and Uriah Rennie had no option but to send him off. Despite this Newcastle continued to play the better football and were unaffected by being a man down.
Brazilian defender Cacapa doubled their lead heading home a corner to give the Magpies a cushion at half time.
A party atmosphere descended on St James' Park in the second half as Newcastle confidently picked apart Stoke.
James Milner made it 3-0 after latching on to a long ball the midfielder beat Steve Simonsen from distance with aplomb and Damien Duff scored their fourth goal following good work from Charles N'Zogbia.
Former Sunderland player Liam Lawrence grabbed a consolation goal for Stoke before the final whistle but the tie was already settled.
Newcastle will expect a sterner test in the fourth round when they take on Arsenal.