Steven Taylor broke the deadlock on 50 minutes as he turned home from close range after Andy McNeil had kept out Kazenga LuaLua's low strike.
Late Shown In Ireland Has Magpies Flying Again!
Steven Taylor broke the deadlock on 50 minutes as he turned home from close range after Andy McNeil had kept out Kazenga LuaLua's low strike.
It looked as through the game was going to fizzle out 1-0 but Shola Ameobi (87) made it 2-0 after a bit of Christiano Ronaldo-type shoe-shuffle in the Rovers penalty area that had Toon players screaming for a pass.
But he held on to jink his way through defenders to crash home a stunning goal.
Nile Ranger got his first goal at senior level with a 25-yard shot in the dying seconds.
United handed senior debuts to Nile Ranger, Wesley Ngo Baheng and Tamas Kadar.
And Hughton included in the United starting line-up Dubliner Damien Duff and Republic of Ireland Under-19 defender Callum Morris.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Andy McNeil, Eric McGill, Darragh Maguire, Corie Treacy, Simon Madden, Alan Trouten, Barry Johnson, Ross Chisholm, Peter Gal Andrezly, Pavol Jurco, Padraig Amond
Subs: Eoin Doyle, Loyed Massey, Sean O'Connor, Tadhg Purcell, Ian Bermingham, Karl Coleman, Victor Ekanem, Aidan Price, Shane Robinson
Subs: Eoin Doyle, Loyed Massey, Sean O'Connor, Tadhg Purcell, Ian Bermingham, Karl Coleman, Victor Ekanem, Aidan Price, Shane Robinson
NEWCASTLE UNITED: Steve Harper, Habib Beye, Callum Morris, Fabricio Coloccini, Tamas Kadar, Wesley Ngo Baheng, Nicky Butt, Joey Barton, Damien Duff, Kevin Nolan, Nile Ranger
Subs: Jose Enrique, Danny Guthrie, Ryan Taylor, Alan Smith, Shola Ameobi, Steven Taylor, Frank Wiafe Danquah, Ole Soderberg, Ben Tozer, Kazenga LuaLua, Tim Krul, Ryan Donaldson