Magpies beat Rangers

Newcastle 4 Rangers 2

Newcastle launched a first-half broadside against Rangers to book manager Sir Bobby Robson a Newcastle Gateshead Cup Final showdown with former club Sporting Lisbon.

An Alan Shearer penalty, a second from Craig Bellamy and an Olivier Bernard piledriver put United in the driving seat long before the half-time whistle had sounded.

Dado Prso pulled one back for Rangers in the 43rd minute but the Magpies did not look like surrendering their lead until Fernando Ricksen squeezed a shot under Steve Harper’s body five minutes from time.

Kieron Dyer made sure with a fourth in injury time, but victory came at a cost with young midfielder Darren Ambrose picking up a knee injury after just 16 minutes, while Shearer’s withdrawal 18 minutes from time after he had been booked for a foul on Jean-Alain Boumsong was perhaps a bigger talking point.

United might have won more comfortably with Dyer passing up a golden opportunity as time ran down, but Rangers rallied as Robson’s men tired and that made for a nervous conclusion.

Nicky Butt was eased into his Newcastle career with 45 minutes as a substitute, and it was the black and white faithful who went home the happier as the Rangers fans prepared for a run-out against Feyenoord tomorrow following the Dutch side’s earlier penalty shoot-out defeat by Sporting.

If what preceded the Anglo-Scottish class had been a largely tepid affair, the temperature rose markedly as a crowd of 31,554, swelled by a travelling army estimated at around 17,000 Scots, descended on St James’ Park and settled in for a rousing encounter.

Alex McLeish’s side did not lack enterprise, but created little in the areas where it mattered most, Spaniard Nacho Novo firing into the side-netting when he might have done better after being played in by Prso on 17 minutes.

By contrast, United, who had pace to burn in the shape of Bellamy, Dyer and Laurent Robert, were clincial when the chances came and took them with devastating effect.

Former Newcastle boss Ruud Gullit had barely completed his post-match press conference after his Feyenoord side’s penalty shoot-out defeat by Sporting Lisbon when Shearer, the man he famously and fatally consigned to the substitutes’ bench for the derby clash with Sunderland which ultimately cost him his job, got his name on the scoresheet.

Robert’s 10th-minute surge into the box caught Ricksen sleeping and his wild swing at the ball succeeded only in connecting with the Frenchman’s shin, and referee Mark Halsey pointed straight to the spot.

Shearer slammed the penalty low to Stefan Klos’ left and the Magpies were up and running.

It was 2-0 on 29 minutes after the Rangers defence once again wilted under the pressure as they struggled to defend crosses from Robert and then substitute Martin Brittain, on for Ambrose, who had injured his right knee in an early clash with Gregory Vignal.

Brittain’s ball into the box was helped on by Shearer and Marvin Andrews could only tee it up for Bellamy, who dispatched it with glee into the back of the net.

But the pick of the bunch came eight minutes before the break when full-back Bernard chested the ball past Chris Burke, took a controlling touch and then sent it screaming past the stranded Klos with a ferocity that left his team-mates applauding as enthusiastically as the crowd.

Rangers gave themselves a lifeline four minutes later when Novo turned neatly past Titus Bramble on to Ricksen’s throw-in and squared for Prso, who accepted the chance without delay, but they left the field knowing they had a mountain to climb.

Robson handed Butt his debut as a half-time substitute for Robert and he set about his task with relish as United looked to kill the game off.

Newcastle’s defensive problems returned to haunt them with 63 minutes gone when Burke combined with substitute Shota Arveladze to leave the striker in acres of space, and when his cross was allowed to travel across the six-yard box, Harper pulled off a superb block to deny Ricksen as he arrived from beyond the far post.

The game erupted on 68 minutes when Shearer and Jean-Alain Boumsong clashed as the ball was floated into the Rangers penalty area with the United man appearing to catch the defender with a flying boot.

He confronted the United skipper to spark a melee which resulted in both men being booked and Shearer was replaced by Shola Ameobi minutes later, a decision which did not seem to please him.

Dyer shot wastefully at Klos after carving his way through the Rangers defence 12 minutes from time, but Aaron Hughes was a relieved man seconds later when he allowed Ricksen’s cross to sail over his head for Burke to volley just over.

Ricksen set the nerves jangling on 85 minutes with his strike, but Dyer finally found his shooting boots in injury time to deflect substitute Michael Chopra’s cross past Klos and into the net.