Shola Ameobi: "It's a great feeling, scoring your first hat-trick.
"I remember sitting in the East Stand paddock watching Faustino Asprilla doing that against Barcelona thinking, 'That could be me one day', hoping and praying.
"It's been a while in the making, but I'm delighted, not just for me, but for the team.
"Before the corner, I was supposed to come off and when we got the corner, I waved over to Chris to say, 'Hold on until after this corner'.
"I am obviously delighted I did. To be able to score at the Gallowgate End for my third goal, as a child growing up here and a supporter was a great feeling.
"I set myself targets every season and this season is no exception. It's a great opportunity for me, as well as the team, to get that winning mentality back, to win games and win games well like we did on Saturday.
"It's a great opportunity for me to score a lot of goals. I've set myself a target, I know what I can do and hopefully I can accomplish that this season and help us get back into the Premier League."
Reading boss Brendan Rodgers was left to reflect on the defensive errors which allowed Newcastle to forge their way into an unassailable lead.
He said: "The penalty was unfortunate, but the other two, we were a wee bit disappointed with because for parts of the game and particularly in the first half, we looked to have good control of the game and it was probably going to be a matter of time until we scored."
The win, which came after a creditable 1-1 draw at West Brom on the opening day of the season, sets Newcastle up perfectly for Wednesday night's visit of Sheffield Wednesday, although the fans who left St James' on Saturday evening could be forgiven for looking a little further ahead.
Prospective buyer Barry Moat, who is in the midst of trying to put together a financial package to buy out current owner Mike Ashley, sat alongside the sportswear magnate, who was the target of repeated abuse during the game.
Press Association Sport understands Ashley will decide by the end of this week whether or not he is prepared to accept one of the offers currently on the table - one British consortium and an overseas group are the leading contenders - or stay put for another season.
The latter scenario would not go down well with supporters who have seen Sebastien Bassong, Obafemi Martins and Habib Beye sold with Damien Duff ready to follow them out of the exit door and with Michael Owen, Mark Viduka, Claudio Cacapa and David Edgar having also gone.
Ashley has spoken to a series of managers - although not fans' favourite Alan Shearer - about the possibility of taking over from caretaker Chris Hughton, and Joe Kinnear could yet return to the hotseat if the club is not sold.
But in the meantime, Hughton and the remaining players will get on with their jobs.
They did just that on Saturday as Ameobi headed home Jose Enrique's 38th-minute cross and then repeated the dose 16 minutes after the break to convert Ryan Taylor's ball in.
He completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Shane Long handled Joey Barton's 75th-minute corner, although he later revealed he might not have been on the pitch to do so.