Alan Pardew said:

"We are going to have to kick ourselves if we don't beat Maritimo at home, with all due respect to them. We have got ourselves in a great position and are looking to just wrap the league up perhaps with that win there, which is our next game.

"We knew the game was still there for us - they did not have much possession, so we knew we could get at them. We were confident we could get back in the game.

About Shola and Sammy:

"I thought they were both good tonight. We had Ameobi to Ameobi - which is almost like a song - for the second goal, which was nice.

"It was a great little turn from Sammy. He has just got this way of getting out of corners that I have not seen many players being able to get out of. He wriggles out of situations.

"He still needs to tighten up a little bit on the tactical and intelligence sides of the game. He takes people on where perhaps he should pass, but he will learn that. He showed his talent tonight - and he marks at set-plays, which he needs to do. He's 6'5". He's not very good at it, but he's learning."

After the low-key expeditionary forces that were dispatched to Greece and Madeira, Newcastle's third Europe League away tie of the season saw hordes of fans descend on Belgium, turning this particular corner of a foreign field into an inebriated but good-natured black and white base camp.  

An abundance of affordable travel options and impatience of United fans to sample the unique atmosphere of watching their team overseas meant that only half of the 5,000+ who made the journey actually got tickets for the game, but that failed to detract from what many European first-timers reported as their best-ever away day following the toon.

To misquote the terrace chant, Brugge wasn't a sh*thole and they didn't wanna go home, with some taking most of the week to get there and back by land, air and sea from as far away as Australia and the USA and intending to party for as long as they - or their wallets - allowed. 

For those with experience of previous European campaigns, the game or the trip may not have quite touched the heights of Antwerp, Bilbao, Rotterdam or Milan, but was still a welcome reminder of just how great these experiences are - when neither set of fans or the authorities tarnish the occasion, save for the ludicrous and illogical decision to leave thousands of seats unsold in the stadium. 

Of course the antics of some of Tyneside's cultural attaches were a little too much for the locals to comprehend, but mostly fell into the amusing rather than objectionable category, with the presence of far right sympathisers failing to sour proceedings any more than occasional "no surrender" chants.

Reports from several locals of Birmingham City's visit here last year told of policing problems including shoplifting, but most of the issues faced by the tourists whose visit to this World Heritage site clashed with our arrival were of how to take photos of the historic buildings without flags from the likes of "Rothbury Mags" intruding on them. The water cannon was there, but never needed.

To the game then and in classic style, United served up a dire opening to the tie which saw them deservedly fall two goals behind within twenty minutes and look in a state of panic every time the home side pumped the ball over the top of our defence.

That was despite the unexpected presence of both Fabricio Coloccini and Cheick Tiote, who were drafted in to start after incurring domestic bans for recent red cards. However United clicked into action before the break and French duo Gabriel Obertan and Sylvain Marveaux both missed good chances to score before Anita launched the comeback in some style. 

A collective effort from the Ameobis then restored parity before half time, as Brugge reverted to the nervous state that saw them incur four successive league defeats and sack their coach. However the Belgians then deviated from the script and there was to be no second half collapse, substitute Tchite, Bacca and Odjidja all testing Krul as the home fans found their voices again.    

Steven Taylor was lucky to get away with a shirt pull in the box on Bacca late on, but a home win would have been harsh on a Magpies side who had deserved at least a point after their comeback. 

As a consequence of Bordeaux's 1-0 win over Maritimo meanwhile, Alan Pardew's side can now ensure qualification for the knockout stages of the competition by beating the Madeira minnow on Tyneside in two weeks time.

That would leave just the away game in France early next month, before hostilities resume in mid February. And at that point, the partners of some Newcastle fans could just find themselves whisked off on an unexpected romantic "Valentine's Day break" - drinking in some town square. 

PS: There's just time to include Mark Bowie's own contribution to proceedings:

Biffa