Shearer and Bellamy lead Magpies to win

Newcastle United 2 Dinamo Tbilisi 0

Goals from skipper Alan Shearer his ninth of the season and Craig Bellamy were enough to see the Magpies home to a second successive Group D victory on a night when they were never really extended by the Georgian outfit.

That said, the home supporters were growing increasingly nervous when Shearer turned up on the end of a flowing 38th-minute move to fire his side in front with an assured finish, and they had to wait until the 56th-minute for Bellamy to wrap up victory with an emphatic volley.

Goalkeeper Shay Given had only one save of any real note to make, tipping over a dipping first-half effort from striker Levan Melkadze, as the visitors struggled to make an impact in attack, and the home side might have won even more comfortably had they made the most of a host of chances.

It was just what Graeme Souness' men needed after meekly surrendering their 10-game unbeaten run at Bolton on Sunday, and they will head for French side Sochaux in three weeks' time knowing that a positive result there would make qualification for the next stage a certainty.

On another night, Dutchman Patrick Kluivert might have capped an enterprising display with a hat-trick, whistling two headers just wide and finding himself dispossessed by the impressive Dato Kvirkvelia whilst pulling the trigger .

Frenchman Laurent Robert wasted a glorious opportunity to open the scoring when his pace took him clear of the Dinamo rearguard to collect a Given clearance, although he shot wide with the goal at his mercy.

Instead, it was left to old campaigner Shearer to ease the growing tension with the game 38 minutes old.

Given's clearance was headed firmly infield by Robert from the right wing and Bellamy's dummy allowed Kluivert to steer the ball into the path of his captain. Shearer, gifted all the time and space for which he could have wished, thumped a right-foot shot past the stranded Zurab Mamaladze to open the scoring.

But the game was effectively over on 56 minutes when Mamaladze and Nemsadze failed to clear a Robert corner and Bellamy thumped a volley into the yawning net to make it 2-0.

Dinamo coach George Geguchadze withdrew Kakhaber Aladashvili and Shota Kashia to send on Lado Akhalaia and Levan Silagadze, but the game looked beyond his side as Souness responded by replacing Bowyer with Darren Ambrose.

Kluivert and Robert both went close as the clock ran down and the Dutchman saw an injury-time effort kicked off the line by Jaba Kankava.

NEWCASTLE: Given, Hughes, Elliott, O'Brien, Bernard, Jenas, Bowyer, Robert, Kluivert, Shearer, Bellamy.

DINAMO TBILISI: Mamaladze, Kashia, Salukvadze, Shashiashvili, Kandelaki, Nemsadze, Aladashvili, Kankava, Kvirkvelia, Melkadze, Mikheil Kakaladze.

Referee: Espen Berntsen (Norway)