2008/9 NEWCASTLE 2 STOKE 2
NEWCASTLE: Given, Beye, Coloccini, Bassong, Jose Enrique, N'Zogbia, Geremi (Cacapa 82), Guthrie (Taylor 46), Gutierrez,Owen, Martins (Viduka 74).
Subs Not Used: Harper, Xisco, Edgar, Carroll.
STOKE: Sorensen, Griffin, Sonko, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham,Delap (Fuller 57), Amdy Faye (Tonge 78), Diao (Whelan 21),Pugh, Cresswell, Sidibe.
Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Olofinjana, Cort, Davies.
Att: 47,422
Even Michael Owen's return to goalscoring form could not bring Newcastle a victory as former Magpie Abdoulaye Faye snatched a point for Stoke.
Owen struck twice inside the opening 24 minutes to give his side the perfect platform at St James' Park.
However, the loss of midfielder Danny Guthrie at half-time exposed the lack of depth in Joe Kinnear's squad and a desperate second-half display allowed the visitors to fight their way back into a game which should have been beyond them.
Mamady Sidibe pulled one back on the hour and Faye levelled in injury time as a late onslaught finally paid dividends in front of a largely devastated crowd of 47,422.
Eleven months ago to the day Sam Allardyce took his Newcastle side to then Coca-Cola Championship Stoke for an FA Cup third-round tie and returned delighted with a 0-0 draw.
However, owner Mike Ashley decided on the evidence of that 90 minutes that enough was enough and the former Bolton boss, now favourite for the vacant post at Sunderland, was on his way.
Ten days later Kevin Keegan sat in the stands at St James' Park and watched the side he had agreed to take over win the replay 4-1.
Had the former England manager been in the same seat today, he would have been celebrating in similar fashion as the Magpies took the game by the scruff of the neck before the break.
Goalless draws at Chelsea and Middlesbrough in their previous two games had demonstrated a commendable resilience, but they knew this was a game they needed to win and set about the task with some relish.
Owen and Obafemi Martins revelled in the service they were given back on home turf with the £17million man Owen in particular making the most of the opportunities which came his way.
With nine minutes gone Jonas Gutierrez cut inside from the right to roll the ball into his path and Owen slid it past Thomas Sorensen and inches inside the post.
There was less finesse about his second, lunging in at the far post intent simply on making contact with Martins' driven cross, but the outcome was the same.
Indeed, had it not been for the heroics of defender Danny Higginbotham - one of three Sunderland old boys in a Stoke side which included as many former Magpies - who twice blocked Jonas' shots in front of goal, the game could have been over by the break.
The Potters threatened only fleetingly, with some of the sting taken out of Rory Delap's long throw by the close proximity of the advertising hoardings to the playing surface.
However, they might have got themselves back into the game six minutes before half-time had former Newcastle defender Abdoulaye Faye managed to direct a free header at goal from substitute Glenn Whelan's free-kick.
Guthrie's failure to reappear after the break on an afternoon when Nicky Butt missed out with a hamstring injury left Kinnear short of midfield options, and his response was inventive.
Jonas moved into the middle as Habib Beye took over on the right, with substitute Steven Taylor replacing him at full-back.
But in what proved to be an intensely uncomfortable second half for the home side, Ibrahima Sonko headed a 47th-minute Whelan free-kick across goal, and they were opened up for the first time five minutes later.
Sidibe found acres of space down the right and had time to pick out Richard Cresswell in the middle.
He looked certain to score until Taylor arrived from nowhere to make a superb block and prevent Shay Given from having to make his first genuine save of the game.
The threat represented by Delap ended with 57 minutes gone when he was replaced by striker Ricardo Fuller as the home defence was handed a different test.
It was one they failed within three minutes when the newcomer worked his way into the box from the right and crossed for Sidibe to score from close range.
Abdoulaye Faye might have levelled in the final minute of normal time, but he made amends in injury time when he stabbed home from Whelan's free-kick.
NEWCASTLE v STOKE - THE HISTORY:
2008/2009 Sat 11 Apr Stoke City 1 - 1 Newcastle Utd. Premier League
Sat 06 Dec Newcastle Utd. 2 - 2 Stoke City Premier League
2007/2008 Wed 16 Jan Newcastle Utd. 4 - 1 Stoke City F.A. Cup
Sun 06 Jan Stoke City 0 - 0 Newcastle Utd. F.A. Cup
1995/1996 Wed 25 Oct Stoke City 0 - 4 Newcastle Utd. League Cup
1989/1990 Mon 16 Apr Newcastle Utd. 3 - 0 Stoke City Second Division
Tue 26 Dec Stoke City 2 - 1 Newcastle Utd. Second Division
1984/1985 Sat 04 May Stoke City 0 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 01 Dec Newcastle Utd. 2 - 1 Stoke City First Division
1978/1979 Sat 28 Apr Stoke City 0 - 0 Newcastle Utd. Second Division
Sat 09 Dec Newcastle Utd. 2 - 0 Stoke City Second Division
1976/1977 Tue 15 Mar Stoke City 0 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 30 Oct Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Stoke City First Division
Wed 22 Sep Newcastle Utd. 3 - 0 Stoke City League Cup
1975/1976 Wed 03 Mar Newcastle Utd. 0 - 1 Stoke City First Division
Sat 25 Oct Stoke City 1 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1974/1975 Sat 19 Apr Stoke City 0 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 12 Oct Newcastle Utd. 2 - 2 Stoke City First Division
1973/1974 Wed 03 Apr Stoke City 2 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 03 Nov Newcastle Utd. 2 - 1 Stoke City First Division
1972/1973 Sat 10 Mar Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Stoke City First Division
Sat 14 Oct Stoke City 2 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1971/1972 Mon 08 May Newcastle Utd. 0 - 0 Stoke City First Division
Sat 27 Nov Stoke City 3 - 3 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1970/1971 Sat 09 Jan Newcastle Utd. 0 - 2 Stoke City First Division
Wed 19 Aug Stoke City 3 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1969/1970 Sat 21 Mar Newcastle Utd. 3 - 1 Stoke City First Division
Sat 06 Dec Stoke City 0 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1968/1969 Wed 30 Apr Newcastle Utd. 5 - 0 Stoke City First Division
Sat 07 Dec Stoke City 1 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1967/1968 Sat 06 Jan Stoke City 2 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 02 Sep Newcastle Utd. 1 - 1 Stoke City First Division
1966/1967 Mon 27 Mar Stoke City 0 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Fri 24 Mar Newcastle Utd. 3 - 1 Stoke City First Division
1965/1966 Sat 26 Feb Newcastle Utd. 3 - 1 Stoke City First Division
Sat 11 Sep Stoke City 4 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1962/1963 Wed 01 May Newcastle Utd. 5 - 2 Stoke City Second Division
Sat 06 Oct Stoke City 3 - 1 Newcastle Utd. Second Division
1961/1962 Sat 14 Apr Newcastle Utd. 2 - 0 Stoke City Second Division
Sat 25 Nov Stoke City 3 - 1 Newcastle Utd. Second Division
1960/1961 Sat 18 Feb Newcastle Utd. 3 - 1 Stoke City F.A. Cup
1955/1956 Sat 18 Feb Newcastle Utd. 2 - 1 Stoke City F.A. Cup
1952/1953 Sat 07 Feb Newcastle Utd. 1 - 2 Stoke City First Division
Sat 20 Sep Stoke City 1 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1951/1952 Sat 15 Dec Stoke City 4 - 5 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 18 Aug Newcastle Utd. 6 - 0 Stoke City First Division
1950/1951 Sat 10 Feb Stoke City 2 - 4 Newcastle Utd. F.A. Cup
Sat 16 Dec Newcastle Utd. 3 - 1 Stoke City First Division
Sat 19 Aug Stoke City 1 - 2 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1949/1950 Sat 18 Feb Stoke City 1 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 01 Oct Newcastle Utd. 4 - 1 Stoke City First Division
1948/1949 Sat 22 Jan Stoke City 1 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 11 Sep Newcastle Utd. 2 - 2 Stoke City First Division
1933/1934 Sat 28 Apr Stoke City 2 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 16 Dec Newcastle Utd. 2 - 2 Stoke City First Division
1922/1923 Sat 21 Apr Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Stoke First Division
Sat 14 Apr Stoke 1 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1909/1910 Wed 19 Jan Newcastle Utd. 2 - 1 Stoke F.A. Cup
Sat 15 Jan Stoke 1 - 1 Newcastle Utd. F.A. Cup
1906/1907 Fri 29 Mar Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Stoke First Division
Wed 26 Dec Stoke 1 - 2 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1905/1906 Tue 24 Apr Newcastle Utd. 5 - 0 Stoke First Division
Sat 16 Dec Stoke 1 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1904/1905 Fri 21 Apr Newcastle Utd. 4 - 1 Stoke First Division
Sat 22 Oct Stoke 1 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1903/1904 Sat 23 Jan Stoke 2 - 3 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 26 Sep Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Stoke First Division
1902/1903 Sat 03 Jan Stoke 5 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 06 Sep Newcastle Utd. 5 - 0 Stoke First Division
1901/1902 Sat 11 Jan Stoke 0 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 14 Sep Newcastle Utd. 5 - 1 Stoke First Division
1900/1901 Sat 12 Jan Stoke 2 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 15 Sep Newcastle Utd. 2 - 1 Stoke First Division
1899/1900 Sat 21 Apr Newcastle Utd. 2 - 2 Stoke First Division
Sat 16 Dec Stoke 2 - 2 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1898/1899 Sat 21 Jan Newcastle Utd. 3 - 0 Stoke First Division
Sat 24 Sep Stoke 0 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1897/1898 Fri 23 Apr Stoke 1 - 0 Newcastle Utd. Test Match
Tue 20 Apr Newcastle Utd. 2 - 1 Stoke Test Match