Newcastle progress

Newcastle 3 Valerenga 1 (Agg 4-2)

Substitute Shola Ameobi preserved Newcastle’s UEFA Cup dream and denied plucky Valerenga a European upset on Tyneside tonight.

Ameobi needed just 71 seconds after replacing the injured Craig Bellamy at half-time to make his mark as Sir Bobby Robson’s men struggled to kill off their Norwegian opponents – and he then completed the job with a minute left to wrap up the victory.

Alan Shearer, who had been rested – much to his annoyance – for the first leg, fired the home side ahead on 20 minutes.

But defender Erik Hagen levelled within five minutes to set up a tense night for the bulk of the 38,531 inside St James’ Park.

Having seen Partizan Belgrade rob them of their Champions League place earlier this season, the Magpies were not about to let another European adventure slip from their grasp.

They were again a shadow of the side which once dismissed all-comers with apparent ease – but they did just enough to ensure their place in tomorrow’s fourth-round draw.

Kjetil Rekdal’s men, who saw Morten Berre volley just too high five minutes from time, headed back to Scandinavia with their reputation enhanced but perhaps feeling they might have done even better had they taken their chances.

Having rested three of his big guns – Shearer, Laurent Robert and Kieron Dyer - in Norway last week and seen his side labour to a 1-1 draw, Robson was looking for much more in the return leg.

But with injuries robbing him of Dyer and Darren Ambrose and suspension accounting for Olivier Bernard and Lee Bowyer, his options were somewhat limited.

The 71-year-old was still confident he had enough in his squad to deal with a side who appeared to punch above their weight in the second half in Oslo.

Valerenga, buoyed by their fightback at the Ulleval Stadium, arrived with nothing to lose and determined to give Newcastle a game.

Oyvind Bolthof denied Shearer a ninth-minute opener with a fine reaction save, but there was little he could do to keep out the 33-year-old’s blistering drive 11 minutes later after one of Dutch referee Eric Braamhaar’s eagle-eyed assistants spotted the goalkeeper straying outside the penalty area with the ball in his hands.

The black-and-white faithful settled down and waited for the floodgates to open – but by the time Titus Bramble flashed a header just wide in first-half injury-time, the anxiety had returned and multiplied.

Newcastle simply could not get to grips with the Norwegians in the middle of the park as David Hanssen, Jorgen Jalland and Ardian Gashi by-passed Gary Speed and Jermaine Jenas and left the Magpies chasing shadows.

Shay Given had already tipped a Gashi shot on to the bar when the criminally-unaccompanied Hagen converted player-coach Rekdal’s corner – despite the best efforts of Michael Bridges on the line.

Shay Given had to keep out another Gashi effort and a long-range free-kick from David Brocken as his side struggled to stem the tide in the closing minutes of the half, and it was boos rather than cheers which ushered the home side from the field at the break.

Robson’s problems increased during the interval when he was forced to replace hamstring victim Bellamy, but it was his deputy Ameobi who made the breakthrough almost instantly.

Picking up possession wide on the left, he cut inside Hagen and before Rekdal could get to him unleashed a low right-foot shot which Bolthof could only palm into his own net.

But with the visitors knowing that 2-2 on the night would be good enough to put them through, Newcastle’s work for the night was far from done.

Bolthof redeemed himself with a solid save from Bridges, playing as an emergency right-sided midfielder, on 55 minutes – although Jenas and Ameobi might have profited from the rebound.

It took a fine tackle from Hagen to deny Shearer three minutes later after Ameobi had unlocked the door.

Hagen excelled again on the hour to block Robert’s cross after he was given time to try to pick out the unmarked Ameobi in the middle.

Valerenga enjoyed plenty of possession but were unable to trouble Given, and Ameobi went close at the other end with a 66th-minute looping header which had Bolthof scuttling back towards his line.

Shearer volleyed wide from an Andy O’Brien cross on 68 minutes, and Rekdal went for broke two minutes later when he sacrificed himself for Runar Normann - the man who dragged his side back into the first leg.

The home supporters had their hearts in their mouths with 16 minutes remaining when Gashi cut inside Bramble and fired low towards goal, Jonathan Woodgate kicking his effort away before substitute Kjetil Waehler blasted the rebound high over.

Nineteen-year-old Martin Brittain was handed a debut as a replacement for Bridges two minutes later – but as the visitors pushed forward and after Berre went perilously close, Jenas sprang the offside trap with a minute remaining and squared for Ameobi to ease the nerves.