Newcastle confirm Champions League status

Newcastle 1 Birmingham 0

Newcastle booked their place in the Champions League for the second successive season with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Birmingham.

Hugo Viana ultimately won the game with a superb first-half free-kick to take full advantage of Matthew Upson’s dismissal for a professional foul on Craig Bellamy seconds earlier.

However, as so often with Sir Bobby Robson’s men, they made life difficult for themselves by passing up a series of golden opportunities and twice hitting the woodwork.

And had Christophe Dugarry made more of the 76th-minute chance with which he was presented by substitute Stan Lazaridis, the Magpies could have been heading for West Brom on Sunday still needing a win to secure a top-four finish.

But they held out and with closest rivals Chelsea and Liverpool both losing, third place is now theirs.

The orders for Newcastle were plain and simple; four points from the last two games would clinch them their place in the European big time regardless of what happened elsewhere, and three today would be the perfect start.

However, with hugely experienced duo Alan Shearer and Gary Speed, who were both presented with a series of awards on the pitch before retiring to the stands, missing for the conclusion of the campaign through injury, the concern was that Newcastle’s young guns might feel the pressure.

There was no lack of quality in Robson’s starting 11 as Shola Ameobi, Jermaine Jenas and Viana were handed massive jobs, but the need for patience was paramount.

Steve Bruce sent out his side determined not to concede any ground to the club he supported as a boy, and with mercurial Frenchman Dugarry going through his full repertoire, the Newcastle defence was under pressure at regular intervals without ever looking in serious danger.

On the one occasion Birmingham did break through, Dugarry out-foxed the otherwise excellent Jonathan Woodgate to cross for midfielder Damien Johnson, and Shay Given, making the 250th start of his career, had to scramble across his goal to claw the ball away.

However, while Newcastle enjoyed the greater share of the possession, they were unable to trouble Given’s opposite number Ian Bennett with any great regularity.

Bellamy squandered a glorious chance to open the scoring on 16 minutes after Ameobi played him in, the Welshman dithering before eventually trying to round the keeper only to deliver the ball into his grasp.

Nolberto Solano volleyed high and wide on 33 minutes after Kieron Dyer had left the blue shirts in his wake to surge into the box, and the tension started to grow in the stands.

However, the game turned five minutes before the break when Solano drove a pinpoint ball over the top for Bellamy to chase and last man Upson bundled him to the ground two yards outside the box.

Referee David Elleray had little choice but to show the red card, and City were still coming to terms with their loss when Viana left Bennett rooted to the spot to curl a brilliant free-kick into the top corner.

Bruce attempted to shore things up at the break by replacing Jeff Kenna with Michael Johnson and switching to a back three, but Newcastle continued to dominate.

However, as the chances continued to go begging, the nerves were jangling among the majority of a crowd of 52,146.

Ameobi was only denied a clear shot on goal by Michael Johnson’s last-ditch tackle and Olivier Bernard, Viana and Dyer all went close in quick succession before Ameobi tested Bennett with a well-struck left-foot drive.

However, despite their numerical disadvantage, the visitors continued to play football, and Newcastle were fortunate to escape on 59 minutes when Geoff Horsfield’s back-heel to Bryan Hughes wrong-footed the home defence, although the midfielder’s cross was too strong for for Dugarry and Steve Caldwell was able to clear.

The Magpies should have wrapped up the points on 64 minutes when Viana found time and space in the penalty area and squared for Dyer, but the midfielder’s shot came back off the post.

The woodwork came to City’s rescue once again five minutes later when Ameobi met Bernard’s cross with a powerful header, only for the ball to hit the bar and rebound off Damien Johnson into Bennett’s arms.

However, as the floodgates stubbornly refused to open, Newcastle had a major escape 14 minutes from time when Lazaridis picked out Dugarry’s run into the box and with defenders rooted to the spot, he flicked the ball towards goal but, to his relief, straight at Given.

Ameobi missed from six yards and Viana forced another fingertip save from Bennett as Newcastle looked to kill off their opponents, but the second goal just would not come, and it was with relief as much as delight that the final whistle was greeted.