FA Cup - Keegan's Newcastle thrash Stoke

Eurosport - Thu, 17 Jan 00:28:00 2008

New boss Kevin Keegan's presence was enough to inspire ten-man Newcastle to a 4-1 win over Stoke in their FA Cup third round replay.

Michael Owen put the home side ahead and, just after Emre was sent off, Cacapa doubled their lead. James Milner and Damien Duff added in the second half, while Liam Lawrence grabbed a late consolation.

The last time Keegan, who was watching from the stands after being confirmed as Sam Allardyce's replacement, took on Stoke with Newcastle it was also in the third round of the FA Cup but a repeat of that 4-0 win would have been a coincidence too far.

Before the match the former Englandmanager referred to his delighted at having returned 'home' and if that is what he is calling St James Park these days then Newcastle were anything but hospitable to their guests, taking only eight minutes to break the deadlock.

It came against the run of play, Ryan Shawcross failing to get Shay Given's parry on target and the Ireland keeper saving from Ricardo Fuller after he outsmarted the Newcastle defence to force a near-post shot.

But with plenty of end-to-end action it was not long before Newcastle threatened the visitors and their best attempts both fell to Owen. The England international sent a long range effort marginally over the crossbar before he eventually scored his first goal in the FA Cup for four years. Duff whipped the ball into the far post and, having seen Mark Viduka head the ball down, Owen slotted it through a mêlée of Stoke legs.

Stoke captain John Eustace and Newcastle's Emre then clashed when they both went in for a tackle, but the Turkish defender protested that Eustace has shown his studs when going to ground. The incident provoked an almost instantaneous response from the Turkey midfielder, who exacted reputation with a knee-high reducer after returning to the pitch following treatment.

Referee Uriah Rennie showed him a straight red and, with only 29 minutes on the clock, Tony Pulis' men sensed blood. But it was Newcastle who went in for the kill, Cacapa doubling their lead with a header from a near-post corner only two minutes after the dismissal.

In the second half Milner chested the ball down and then cut outside his defender before firing a low shot beyond Steve Simonsen. Only moments earlier Rory Delap had Stoke's best effort when he looked to have beaten Given from a close-range header, only to be inches short.

Milner was involved in the fourth goal too, his wide ball to Charles N'Zogbia moved onto Duff who finished well.

Lawrence grabbed a late consolation for Stoke with a superb long-range effort and - despite the scoreline - Stoke may take heart from the fact that they did not look out of their depth in Premier League company as they return to their promotion campaign in the Championship.

Newcastle's emphatic victory has secured them a trip to the Emirates Stadium in the next round. Incidentally Arsene Wenger began his reign in North London when Keegan was last at the helm and since then the Frenchman has seen ten different faces take charge of St James Park.