Ruud the red menace as Toon tormented

Newcastle Utd 1 Manchester Utd 4

It’s the sight of Newcastle United being overwhelmed by Manchester United in an FA Cup semi-final that was even more one-sided than the scoreline suggests.

From the first blow of Mike Riley’s whistle there was only ever one team on fire as Newcastle, depleted by injury and suspensions and already smarting from a hammering in Lisbon, rewarded their long-suffering fans with yet another painful ordeal to add to what has become a season of woe.

Manchester United have had their own recent troubles too, of course, but this was a committed and even free-wheeling performance, everything demanded by captain Roy Keane following the defeat by Norwich.

When, after only four minutes, Ruud van Nistelrooy easily shook off Jean-Alain Boumsong and forced Shay Given to save low at the post, it was a portent of things to come. In front of 69,280, all the early action was at the Geordies’ end, as Ronaldo and Gary Neville raided with impunity up the right, Rooney brought power and purpose down the centre and Gabriel Heinze, overlapping Quinton Fortune, kept Stephen Carr busy on the left.

It was a measure of the Manchester dominance that Newcastle talisman Alan Shearer was frequently forced to drop back and bolster a midfield where Amdy Faye and United old boy Nicky Butt struggled to cope with the slick passing and combative presence of Keane and Scholes.

So limited were the options available to Graeme Souness that he had been obliged to swallow his pride and give a place in the team to one of his harshest critics, Laurent Robert. But in the opening 20 minutes, the winger’s negligible contribution suggested he might as well have not been picked at all, his best effort a free-kick well wide of the target.

The dam that had been creaking from the off finally broke in the 19th minute when Ronaldo skipped down the right and whipped in a ball which van Nistelrooy guided with more precision than power past Given.

Ronaldo has frequently been criticised for flattering to deceive but this was one of those days when the trickery was matched with the desired end product. The busy Given had already spilled a shot just round the post from a Rooney drive when, on the stroke of half-time, Ronaldo found room again on the right, and this time saw his pinpoint cross brilliantly headed home by Scholes.

In an effort to stem the tide, Souness rang the changes at half-time, bringing on Republic of Ireland international Andy O’ Brien for Celestine Babayaro and replacing Faye with 18 year-old midfielder Charles N’Zogbia who had been a doubt earlier in the week with a suspected fractured collarbone.

An early effort high and wide of Tim Howard’s goal suggested the French youth international was at least determined to take the game to United, and for a spell after the restart the fresh legs - and doubtless a few choice words Souness - seemed to give Newcastle a new lease of life.

But on the counter-attack United looked menacing and, after one lightning break involving Rooney and Ronaldo, van Nistelrooy, racing in at the far post, was only inches wide with the finish.

The United faithful had been waiting since November to celebrate a Ruud goal and they didn’t have to wait much longer for his second of the day, as his side capitalised on Butt’s woefully mishit pass to launch another breathtaking break which climaxed with the striker side-footing home from close range.

That should have been that, but Manchester complacency as much as Newcastle spirit, saw Ameobi immediately beat Howard from an acute angle at the other end, after Shearer’s forceful run.

The Toon Army roared into life but at 3-1, and even with a half an hour left, the Newcastle reply already had the feel of a consolation goal. And so it proved. Desperately chasing a lost cause, and with Patrick Kluivert now on for James Milner, Newcastle left gaps at the back which United exploited at will, Given being forced to make saves from a Van Nistelrooy chip, a Ronaldo header and a fiercely hit Scholes free-kick, before the final humiliation arrived in the 77th minute.

Again, the move originated on the right with Gary Neville, before the ball was worked into van Nistelrooy and then on to the unmarked Ronaldo, who had all the time he required to pick his spot.

Ferguson availed of the luxury of sending on Smith, Giggs and Fletcher for Rooney, Ronaldo and Scholes, but there was to be no shifting Keane who once again led from start to finish, as United set up a mouth-watering final against Arsenal next month.

MANCHESTER UNITED: Howard, Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Heinze, Ronaldo (Giggs 78), Scholes (Fletcher 78), Keane, Fortune, Rooney (Smith 78), Van Nistelrooy.

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Given, Carr, Boumsong, Taylor, Babayaro (O’ Brien 45), Robert, Butt, Faye (N’Zogbia 45), Milner (Kluivert 64), Ameobi, Shearer.

Referee: M. Riley.