Newcastle Utd 2 Barnsley 0
Subs Not Used: Harper, Huntington.
BARNSLEY: Muller, Werling, Souza, Nyatanga, Kozluk, Ricketts,McCann, Mostto (Christensen 76), Togwell,Devaney (Butterfield 87), Mattis (Coulson 83).
Subs Not Used: Colgan, Atkinson.
30,523 made the effort for this competition that Big Sam says is our "most realistic chance of a trophy this season".
But it was a decent run out for some of the squad, if hardly the most exciting match we've seen this season.
Michael Owen ended his 20-month wait for a Newcastle goal; we had a look at new defenders Jose Enrique, Cacapa; Nobby was back in the side when we thought we'd seen the last of him; Emre got himself a run-out; and of course the return of Shay Given.
All in all, a bit of a patched up side thrown together for the occasion, but still far too strong and classy for the boys from Yorkshire.
The 27-year-old England international struck 12 minutes after the break, finding the net in a competitive game for his club for the first time since December 17, 2005.
The £17million man departed to warm applause seven minutes from time when he was replaced by Obafemi Martins, who wrapped up the victory three minutes later with a superb volley.
The win was hard-fought, as we expected. New players and those returning to the team, trying to stay clear of injury yet give enough to get the side into the next round of the competition.
It resulted in Newcastle's first win of the season at St James' Park and preserved their unbeaten start to the campaign, so the result was more important than the performance.
Barnsley made a game of it, and credit to them, but Shay Given was only in action once. Claudio Cacapa and Jose Enrique started for the first time at the back and were rarely under extreme pressure.
Given had only one save of any significance to make on his return from injury, but it was a vital one as Dominik Werling's blistering 38th-minute free-kick sped towards his goal.
Owen and Ameobi both had shouts for penalties in the dying seconds of the first half, but their appeals were more in hope than expectation.
Allardyce replaced Emre with Nicky Butt to add steel in central midfield.
Geremi forced a smart save from Muller with a curling 56th-minute shot, but it was Owen who finally broke the deadlock a minute later.
Ameobi sent through the perfect pass and the England international stabbed home just his second goal at St James' to the delight of his manager and the home crowd.
Owen's exit set the stage for Martins to claim his third goal of the season and finally end Barnsley's hopes of a late fightback.