Tottenham Can Expect Tough Time At SJP!

Att: 52,079

Resurgent Newcastle laid down a marker for the second half of the season after staging a first-half blitz to see off Tottenham.

Manager Glenn Roeder insisted in the run-up to the game that his side should set their sights on European qualification after mounting a concerted fightback in recent weeks.

And after a fifth Barclays Premiership victory in six attempts, his view does not appear too bullish.

Midfielder Kieron Dyer set the tone with a superb third-minute opener, and when £10million striker Obafemi Martins headed home his ninth goal of the season four minutes later, a crowd of 52,079 - the biggest of the season at St James' Park - settled down for thrilling afternoon.

However, Spurs were not about to concede the points and dragged themselves back into the game when Danny Murphy's shot was deflected home by Steven Taylor.

But Scott Parker's 34th-minute header sealed the points with almost an hour still to play to head into the Christmas period brimming with confidence.

Already without the injured Robbie Keane, Martin Jol was dealt another blow after the warm-up when he was forced to withdraw Jermain Defoe and name midfielder Murphy in his place.

The former Liverpool man was to make his mark, but his 15th-minute strike, which was deflected past Shay Given by the helpless Taylor, proved little more than consolation for his side.

Newcastle simply exploded out of the blocks and found themselves 2-0 up with just seven minutes gone.

Dyer, released form the wide midfield role he had filled in the two previous games to play off lone striker Martins, showed once again how dangerous he can be with three minutes gone.

The Nigerian turned Nolberto Solano's clearance into the England midfielder's path and with the Spurs defence backing off, he raced towards goal before beating Paul Robinson with a deft side-footed shot.

It was 2-0 within four minutes when a rickety Tottenham rearguard was breached for the second time, Parker exchanging passes with James Milner before crossing for Martins to head home his sixth Premiership goal in five games.

To their credit, Jol's men regrouped quickly and with the passing and movement of midfield quintet Didier Zokora, Hossam Ghaly, Tom Huddlestone, Steed Malbranque and Murphy causing the Magpies all sorts of problems, they grabbed a lifeline.

Murphy's strike from a Pascal Chimbonda cross was far from clean, but Taylor's touch was and the ball flew past the wrong-footed Given.

However, it was opposite number Robinson who was left red-faced 11 minutes before the break.

He could not hold Milner's free-kick and although he atoned for the error with excellent reaction saves from first Taylor and then Martins, Parker headed the loose ball into the empty net to make it 3-1.

Newcastle returned knowing the job was only half done, and they were served with a reminder of that within three minutes.

Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, who had proved a handful in the lone striking role before the break, was no less dangerous after it, and he might have reduced the deficit within three minutes of the restart.

The powerful frontman got himself between Taylor and Peter Ramage to run in on goal, but with Given advancing, he poked his right-foot shot wide of the far post.

Teenage defender Paul Huntington's mishit clearance handed defender Michael Dawson a chance to shoot from close range on 54 minutes, but he made no better contact.

Spurs were pressing and Ramage had to clear hurriedly after Malbranque had crossed towards Berbatov on 59 minutes, and each had penalty appeals rightly waved away in quick succession.

Antoine Sibierski and Mido arrived as replacements for Emre and Zokora respectively with 66 minutes gone as one side looked to consolidate and the other sought a way back into the game.

The Egyptian presented a new challenge for the home defence with makeshift right-back Solano in particular coming under pressure, but his side held firm.

Tottenham were throwing everything they had at the Magpies, but getting little change from a defence comprising three youngsters and a winger.

As the Londoners threw men forward, Newcastle looked to hit them on the break, and it took a good save from Robinson to deny Martins a second goal of the afternoon with 10 minutes remaining.

There was a change in the home goal three minutes from time when crowd favourite Pavel Srnicek, making his first appearance for the club in more than nine years at the age of 38, replaced the injured Given to cap a more than pleasant afternoon for the Toon Army.

Att: 52,301

Tottenham's Champions League hopes were dealt a blow as Newcastle ended a run of four successive defeats in style.

A first-half blitz saw the Magpies race into a 3-1 lead inside the opening half-hour.

And although they rode their luck after the break, Michael Dawson's 61st-minute dismissal for a second bookable offence effectively ended Tottenham's fightback.

Lee Bowyer fired the Magpies in front with just a minute and six seconds gone, and although Robbie Keane levelled, Shola Ameobi restored Newcastle's lead after 25 minutes.

Alan Shearer's 30th-minute penalty - his 203rd goal for the club in his 300th Premiership appearance - ultimately sealed the win, although Keane saw a piledriver come back off the crossbar and later clipped a post, and former Magpie Jermaine Jenas could not find the unguarded net after rounding Shay Given.

The bulk of a crowd of 52,301 went home happy, although wondering what might have been after seeing their side dominate a team challenging for the top-four finish Newcastle so crave.

Caretaker boss Glenn Roeder insisted in the run-up to the game that there was still plenty to play for in a season which ended in terms of the big prizes with Newcastle's FA Cup quarter-final exit at Chelsea last week.

With Scott Parker having joined Michael Owen on the sidelines with glandular fever and Kieron Dyer once again missing from the 16, Newcastle could have been forgiven for wishing for a merciful release.

However, Roeder's message had obviously registered with his players as they set about Tottenham with a relish which belied their troubles.

Bowyer, who might have left the club in January but this week pledged his coontinued allegiance, opened the scoring with his first Premiership goal of the season and his first in any competition since last July.

It came from a flowing move involving Charles N'Zogbia, Shearer and Nolberto Solano which set the tone for a thrilling display.

The first half was not without its scares as a rearguard which included three men - Robbie Elliott, Peter Ramage and Craig Moore - who would not figure in the club's strongest back four was kept on its toes by Keane.

The Irishman headed the visitors back level after 19 minutes, applying the finish after Aaron Lennon had comprehensively beaten former Tottenham full-back Stephen Carr. Keane then smashed a shot against the crossbar in injury time.

But by that point, Newcastle had taken the game by the scruff of the neck.

Ameobi's 25th-minute strike restored their lead, and there was more to come when Bowyer, who had earlier had appeals for a penalty turned down, was inexplicably shoved to the ground by Edgar Davids after Shearer and Solano had carved Tottenham open once again.

Shearer hammered the penalty past Paul Robinson to give his side a deserved 3-1 lead, and had he not earlier missed from the kind of headed opportunity upon which he has built his career, Roeder's men could have been out of sight.

The home side returned knowing an early goal for Tottenham would change the complexion of the game once again, and it needed Moore's intervention to deny Lennon a chance to claim it after he once again slipped past Carr with just a minute gone.

Keane was dropping deeper to pick up possession earlier and run at the home defence, but it was a policy which proved only partially successful.

Michael Carrick's last-ditch tackle denied Solano a fourth goal for the Magpies on 53 minutes, but when Tottenham broke from the resulting corner, they should have been back in the game.

Elliott's attempt to head a long ball away from the danger area succeeded only in directing it into the feet of former team-mate Jenas.

The England international, who left St James' Park for White Hart Lane in a £7million move during the summer, rounded Given easily, but with the goal at his mercy, sliced his left-foot shot into the side-netting, much to the amusement of the home fans.

Keane clipped the outside of the post with a well-struck 59th-minute effort, but his side were dealt a blow two minutes later when Dawson, who had been booked before the break for a foul on Emre, picked up a second yellow card for a tug on Shearer's shirt and was dismissed.

Had it not been for Robinson's agility, Ramage would have wrapped up the points with a 63rd-minute header, and although Keane and substitute Jermain Defoe both wasted good opportunities as time ran down, the hard work had already been done.

Att: 51,307

Battling Newcastle scraped into the FA Cup semi-finals with a gritty victory over Tottenham.

Patrick Kluivert's 11th goal of the season after just five minutes claimed the win which booked the Magpies their fourth semi-final in eight years - although it took a breath-taking double save from Shay Given to deny first substitute Robbie Keane and then Jermain Defoe a 68th-minute equaliser as Spurs fought back.

Martin Jol's side will count themselves very unfortunate not to have secured at least a replay after besieging the Newcastle goal.

The hosts were decimated by injury, but Graeme Souness' back four - ably assisted by Given - held firm to earn their trip to Cardiff via a grandstand finish in front of a crowd of 51,307.

It was their seventh successive victory inside 25 days, and the fact that it came courtesy of a never-say-die defensive display which resulted in another clean sheet will have delighted Souness.

Fredi Kanoute, Reto Ziegler and Jermain Defoe were excellent for the visitors. But Given, Kieron Dyer, Aaron Hughes, makeshift left-back Jermaine Jenas and, against his former club, Stephen Carr were equally outstanding in a pulsating encounter which kept alive captain Alan Shearer's dream of lifting a trophy in his final season.

Things have changed so drastically at St James' Park in recent weeks that the news that defender Titus Bramble was struggling with a groin injury before kick-off came as a major blow, and the fact that his name appeared on the team sheet was greeted with some relief.

But Souness' gamble to start with his in-form centre-half backfired five minutes before the break when he limped off - and with no other defender on the bench, England midfielder Jenas was asked to fill in at left-back as Hughes joined Jean-Alain Boumsong in the middle.

By that point, however, the Toon Army had celebrated and panicked in equal measure as a tight contest unfolded in front of them.

Kluivert's fifth-minute strike, his third goal in as many starts, took him to 11 for the season days after Souness had reiterated his belief that his future at St James' Park will depend on how may times he finds the back of the net.

The Dutchman was in the right place at the right time to profit from Shearer's surge past Ledley King and pull-back from the right - the flank which gave his side much joy in the opening 20 minutes or so as Timothee Atouba was dissected by the lively Dyer.

Spurs fought back - and with Michael Brown, Michael Carrick and Ziegler wresting control in the middle of the pitch and Kanoute proving a willing recipient, the home side found themselves having to defend with some determination.

The Frenchman fired a shot on the turn straight at Given on 30 minutes and toe-poked a Defoe cross into the side-netting four minutes later, while the England international tested the Irishman with a dipping 37th-minute effort from distance.

Shearer left the field temporarily to have two staples put in a chin wound. But he was able to return, unlike Bramble, whose absence left the home fans knowing a place in the semi-finals was within their grasp - with a difficult 45 minutes to negotiate first.

Newcastle returned aware they had to impose themselves once again, and Laurent Robert played his part in the opening two minutes of the half - luring first Brown and then Noe Pamarot into unwise challenges which cost both a booking.

Robert threatened again on 49 minutes after accepting Carr's cross-field pass and firing the ball in to the near post, where Kluivert was just muscled off it by Pamarot.

Simon Davies dragged a volley wide from 16 yards on 53 minutes, and then King saw his effort headed away by Amdy Faye as Spurs made their big push.

The home side rallied briefly without ever threatening Paul Robinson - but Jol went for broke with 27 minutes remaining when he took off Atouba and replaced him with striker Keane.

The Irishman might have got his side back into it within five minutes of his arrival, but the brilliance of international team-mate Given denied him.

Kanoute burst into the penalty area from the right and pulled the ball back for Keane in almost an identical position to the one from which Kluivert had scored. But Given pulled off a fine save to claw away his first-time volley and then recover to keep out Defoe's follow-up with an even better stop.

Newcastle hit Tottenham on the break four minutes later when Lee Bowyer played in substitute Shola Ameobi, on for the injured Kluivert, down the right.

He headed straight into the penalty area and saw his low cross deflected just wide of the post as the game entered its tense final stages.

Bowyer appeared to handle in the penalty area in the closing minutes. But the incident took place with the referee's view obscured - and Spurs were left to rue that.

Tottenham threw everything they had at their hosts, and only an uncompromising defensive display kept them out - with the home fans anxiously counting down the minutes.

Att: 52,185

Another troubled week in the history of Newcastle came to a miserable end as Sir Bobby Robson saw three Barclays Premiership points slip through his hands.

The Magpies, having seen Kieron Dyer and Jonathan Woodgate dominate the back pages for different reasons for days, enjoyed a similar command over Tottenham for long periods, but failed to take their chances and were made to pay when Cameroon international Thimothee Atouba blasted a 51st-minute winner past Shay Given.

It might have been even worse for Robson's men had Given not pulled off an excellent save from Jermain Defoe and Stephen Carr not denied former team-mate Ledley King on the line.

But the goalkeeping plaudits had to go to Spurs' Paul Robinson, who produced a stunning stop to deny James Milner before the break and an equally good one to keep out Laurent Robert's piledriver after the break.

The boos which greeted the final whistle were not aimed at repentant midfielder Kieron Dyer, as the club had feared before kick-off, but at the whole team - as a 14-game unbeaten run at St James' came to an ignominious end.

The Magpies faithful among a crowd of 52,185 turned up at St James' Park after reading newspaper headlines suggesting that their club is ready to break the bank to lure Wayne Rooney to the north east and still debating the pros and cons of Dyer's apology and Jonthan Woodgate's departure for Real Madrid.

Craig Bellamy has insisted since the day Dutch superstar Patrick Kluivert arrived at the club that he would give up his place in the starting line-up for no-one, and set about his task with relish, giving central defender Nourredine Naybet a torrid time.

Jermaine Jenas, one of the men handed the central midfielder berth Dyer so craves, seemed keen too to re-establish his credentials, while the returning Andy O'Brien did his best to lessen the blow of Woodgate's loss with an assured display.

In truth, they and their team-mates should have walked off the pitch at half-time with a commanding lead after dominating and making enough chances to leave the Londoners with a mountain to climb.

That they did not was down to a combination of Robinson's brilliance and sheer bad luck.

The Spurs goalkeeper produced a breathtaking 26th-minute save to deny Milner a first league goal for his new club, somehow tipping his left-foot volley over after Alan Shearer had headed back Carr's cross.

But there was little he could have done seven minutes later when Jenas met a Robert corner with a powerful header which would have thundered into the net had it not hit Bellamy's shoulder.

Jenas might have set the ball rolling as early as the 11th minute when he and Bellamy exchanged passes on the left touchline and the midfielder raced away from Naybet and prodded the ball past the advancing Robinson, only to see his shot run just wide of the far post.

Spurs were on the back foot for much of the half, although Defoe and Jamie Redknapp both tested Given, while Atouba squandered a hat-trick of half-chances beyond the far post, failing to hit the target on each occasion.

The second-half unfolded in much the same fashion as the first, although Tottenham were working hard to close down their opponents, particularly out wide, where Robert had little space in which to operate, prompting full-back Olivier Bernard to adopt a more enterprising approach.

However, it was the visitors who forced their way in front against the run of play in the 51st minute.

Atouba found his range after cutting in from the left, curling a superb shot past Given's despairing dive and into the bottom corner.

Newcastle immediately set about the task of restoring parity, but they squandered possession all too readily and King and Naybet grew in confidence.

However, as Robert started to find his feet, their hopes rose, the Frenchman seeing a long-range effort deflected wide for a corner and then forcing another first-class save from Robinson with a stinging drive after being set up by Shearer.

Defoe kept Given on his toes with a near-post shot after spinning away from Aaron Hughes on 71 minutes, but the goalkeeper needed Carr's help on the line seconds later after King got his head to a flicked-on corner.

Robson sent on Dyer with 13 minutes remaining to a mixed, but generally supportive response, along with Kluivert and Shola Ameobi as Robert, Milner and Jenas made way.

But the shape of the side was all wrong with Bellamy playing in midfield, and a scuffed 88th-minute Ameobi shot apart, Robinson's goal was rarely under any real threat.