.... which was the most frightening experience I have ever had at a Newcastle game.
Last night in Italy, after pre-match clashes between travelling fans and Italian police, the game was delayed by 35 minutes due to crowd disturbances after Serbian fans threw flares in the direction of the north stand where Italian supporters were seated, and on to the pitch.
When the game finally started, more flares and fireworks were thrown onto the pitch forcing Scottish referee Craig Thomson to stop the match.
A statement from UEFA: "UEFA now awaits the receipt of the official UEFA delegate's match report before deciding whether to open a disciplinary case."
Serbia are in Northern Ireland's Euro 2012 qualifying group and Nigel Worthington's team face a trip to Belgrade in March.
Serbian Football Association president Tomislav Karadzic: "We had indications that this would happen.
"These fans are just the executors, it was planned in Belgrade.
"This has brought embarrassment and shame on our country. We had problems during training, before the match, and now this...the state must react."
Italian Football Federation security chief Roberto Massucci: "Fans that are so dangerous should not have arrived in Genoa. They should have been stopped by the Serbian officials.
"We were aware that this game had a risk factor but a behaviour of such aggressiveness we had not experienced for some time.
"From the traditional channels of communication with the Serbian police, we had not been given any signs of the degree of danger of these fans."
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli: "We are extremely sad and very bitter.
"I've never experienced anything like this.
"The (Serbia) players have been assaulted by their own fans in their bus.
"Their goalkeeper (Vladimir Stojkovic) was in our changing room, he was trembling and had fear not only about tonight but also in view of returning home.
"The ultra fans seemed organised. It appeared as though they would have done everything possible to make sure the game was not played. According to the Serbian players, that was their aim."
When Newcastle played in Belgrade we were the last flights in and out of the place before the airports were closed due to the war between Serbia, Yugoslavia and Bosnia.
We were told to keep a low profile and only leave the hotel to go to the match.
Getting there was a nightmare, we had to go to Manchester and fly to Hanover, get a flight to Munich, then a business flight into Belgrade.
Only about 80 Toon fans managed to get there, and we were attacked several times during our three day stay there, some Toon fans ended up in hospital having been hit with baseball bats.
I had a gun pulled on me by a taxi driver who took a two mile journey and tried to get £50 out of us.
Inside the ground we heard gun shots, and we found out later two Serbs had been killed (nothing to do with Toon fans). We were pelted with missiles, and the riot police picked up the ammunition and HANDED it back to the Partizan fans to throw at us again!
1998/9 PARTIZAN BELGRADE 1 NEWCASTLE UTD 0
NEWCASTLE: Given, Griffin (Albert 73), Glass, Batty, Shearer, Speed, Ketsbaia, Charvet, Solano, Dabizas, Pearce.
Subs Not Used: Perez, Gillespie, Barton, Harper, Georgiadis,Howey.
Att: 26,000
Ruud Gullit's European Cup Winners' Cup dream was shattered tonight in the Battle of Belgrade.
Four Newcastle players were booked, firecrackers boomed out all evening and flares lit up the night sky as 45,000 frenzied Yugoslavs turned the JNA Stadium into a seething furnace.
In the end Gullit's men could not quite stand the heat as they went out agonisingly on away goals but no-one could say they did not go down fighting.
They battled for every ball, fought until they dropped but in the end went out to the heartbreak of another penalty from Vuk Rasovic - the man who had slotted home the all-important away goal at St James' Park a fortnight ago.
Then it was Laurent Charvet who had given away the spotkick needlessly, this time it was poor David Batty.
The England midfielder, making his first start after returning from suspension, tracked Partizan danger man Vladimir Ivic into the Newcastle penalty area in the 52nd minute.
Ivic wriggled in front of him and Batty, desperate to make the tackle before the lively striker got in the shot, tripped him up.
All of Belgrade, it seemed, embraced Ivic in hugs and kisses and Rasovic slotted the ball expertly passed Newcastle keeper Shay Given.
It was no more than the Yugoslavs deserved on a night that could not have had less to do with Gullit's vision of 'sexy football'.
This was passionate alright but it was also frenzied and frantic, fraught and fragmented - but pulsating at every turn.
The Partizan fans are nicknamed 'Grobari' - which in these parts means 'The Undertakers' - and it was apparent from the very first tackle that team and supporters alike had come to bury Newcastle.
Partizan boast a 100% record in the stadium in all competitions this season. They have won their last eight league games and need just two more to set a Yugoslav record.
And you can understand why after hearing the noise generated in the open concrete bowl patrolled by armed police and dog handlers.
At times it took all the combative talents of Batty to prevent Newcastle's midfield from being swamped.
It was almost inevitable when the pugnacious Batty was shown the yellow card in the 26th minute for what seemed an innocuous tangle.
But time and again it seemed the Newcastle resolve must crack as Partizan pressed forward relentlessly.
Goalkeeper Shay Given was called on to make saves from Nenad Djekovic and Dorde Tomic as the Yugoslavs gave early warning that they had the firepower to trouble the Geordie defence.
It called for a desperate rearguard action and Nolberto Solano was the second Newcastle player in referee Manuel Diaz Vega's notebook in the 35th minute for a foul on Belgrade captain Sasa Ilic.
He was quickly followed by Alan Shearer for dissent - a harsh decision as the Newcastle striker seemed merely to shrug his shoulders at the referee.
But as the decibel level rose even higher the alarm bells rang out loud and clear for the Magpies - Djekovic rising to head a cross against the Newcastle crossbar.
But, just to underline Newcastle's courage in the face of a sweeping onslaught, they could easily have wrapped up the tie themselves.
Just before half time Temuri Ketsbaia squandered a gilt-edged opportunity, dragging his shot wide from 12 yards.
And it was Ketsbaia again who provided Newcastle's best chance of the match just after half-time.
He latched on to a long clearance and his pace took him past the Partizan defence.
He jinked inside Belgrade keeper Nikola Damjanac and squared the ball for Shearer, only for the England captain to see the pass taken agonisingly off his toes.
Unfortunately, that was the cue for Partizan to up the pace once more and their relentless foraging sparked the incident which led to the penalty.
No-one could say it was not deserved as Newcastle had stayed in touch only through some desperate defending by the immaculate Nikos Dabizas.
Partizan could have added to their score at any stage but Newcastle still will rue missing some glaring chances.
Gary Speed was the main culprit, missing his kick completely when put clean through by Shearer's pass.
But the simple fact remains that Newcastle just could not quite cope with the frantic atmosphere which saw the frenzied Partizan support hurling abuse and at one late stage their seats from behind the metal barriers and over the heads of the armed police.
The hostile atmosphere in the ground was in keeping with the tense situation in a country which is threatened by NATO air strikes and possibly on the point of all-out war.
It was some European baptism for Gullit on his first travels with Newcastle.
The team arrived in this sprawling city to the news that it had been shaken by an earthquake - and the tremors of this defeat certainly a setback to the momentum which has been gathering in the Geordie camp in the post-Dalglish era.
The team spirit, however, could not be faulted. They just lacked the necessary skill and coolness to deal with the intimidating situation.
If only Charvet's shot, which was fumbled by keeper Damjanac and fell behind him, had landed on the right side of the goal-line - but then Newcastle can have no complaints at the result which sparked off the most bizarre and frenzied celebrations possibly ever seen in this part of the world.
It left the stadium looking like a war zone - and it left Gullit with just home battles to look to savour for the rest of the season.