Saviour Owen spares Tyne blushes

JUST when Kevin Keegan required a suitable diversion to deflect attention away from the myriad deficiencies affecting his newly-inherited team, Michael Owen leapt towards the heavens to buy the self-styled Geordie Messiah invaluable time.

Had the experienced England international not headed Newcastle United into a 60th-minute lead there is every probability that this would have been a third successive defeat for the Magpies’ new manager and a fourth game without a goal under his far from convincing guidance.

Owen saved his team a point but there is no underestimating the longer-term value of the forward’s first Premier League strike since October 7.