A Shola Ameobi penalty conversion and a top-class goalkeeping exhibition from Tim Krul sent United into the last sixteen of the Europa League on Thursday evening, silencing the massed ranks of home fans at the Metalist stadium in the process.

And for the intrepid supporters who followed Alan Pardew's side via Istanbul, Vienna, Kiev and God knows where else, at last there was a European victory to savour and celebrate, after drawing blanks in Athens, Madeira, Bruge and Bordeaux in this campaign.

In truth the result and the occasion outweighed the quality of the football and we seldom looked like scoring from open play. In terms of guts, fight and determination though there was nothing lacking from those in black and white and their post-match celebrations looked genuine enough.

Crucial blunders from defender Papa Gueye and goalkeeper Oleksandr Goryainov just after the hour mark gifted Newcastle what was an ultimately deserved progression thanks to Shola Ameobi's spot kick conversion. And Krul then conjured up memories of his Palermo debut with a series of fabulous stops to keep Metalist at bay, United see the job through and recording a second clean sheet against the Ukrainians, who only belatedly upped their game once they needed to score twice.

However the victory did come at some cost, with Krul requiring treatment in the closing stages after a clash with Jonathan Cristaldo left him with an ankle problem. And with all three replacements used, he stayed on the field and strode over to take the deserved applause from toon fans at full time.

By the time he'd reached Kharkiv airport however, Tim was sporting a protective boot on his left foot and a crutch. Confirmation later came that he'll undergo a scan on Monday to assess the level of damage incurred. With Steve Harper sidelined, that opens the door for Robbie Elliot.

Felding a strong line-up despite losing Cheick Tiote to illness on the day of the game and leaving Davide Santon behind in England to rest, United dominated the early exchanges without really threatening the Metalist goal.

With Steven Taylor benched, a new-look defence saw Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa in the centre to partner Fabricio Coloccini, Massadio Haidara debut at left back and Danny Simpson return on the other flank - playing his first game of 2013 after recovering from a toe problem and wearing his lasses tights.

Shola Ameobi led the attack, with Papiss Cisse tending to work down the right and our best chance of the half came shortly before the break when the latter saw his shot beaten away by Goryainov.

Only a header from Cristaldo that went wide gave home fans much hope that they would break the deadlock and a stop-start first 45 minutes suggested that the scoreless tie could well remain that way - with the threat of extra time and penalties to achieve a result.

Sylvain Marveaux had a great chance after the break, but after a fine run into the box his shot flew over when squaring it would surely have seen the unattended Ameobi find the net. 

But with a decided lack of forward options on the bench, United soon took advantage of slack play by Metalist to win the penalty. That goal belatedly spurred the home side into action and after a double substitution, new arival Gomes Willian forced a fabulous one-handed save from Krul.

Krul then saved his side twice more in quick succession, pulling off a fantastic double save to deny Cristaldo, seeing Perch block a goalbound effort and the pushing Willian's near post flick against the post - the latter resulting in a mass exodus of disenchanted home fans.

A valiant victory then and one which does confirm that we've reached the point in this competition that it ceases to be an unspoken inconvenience. The goalscoring capacity remains a worry, but we're strong enough and interested enough to have a genuine go at getting as far as possible - hopefully that will be reflected by an upsurge in interest from those season ticket holders who have so far boycotted the Europa League in a full house and a raucous atmosphere in the next round. 

Had those six points not come our way from the Villa and Chelsea games though, this could have been a long and chilly night indeed to witness a rerun of the Bordeaux and Brighton away games when our fringe players willfully passed up the chance to stake a claim for regular starting spots.   

And on a purely personal basis, taking the lead in the tie and then holding out successfully did in some small way atone for the 2005 disaster in Lisbon when we threw away a two goal lead. You can never say that these competitions don't matter: that Sporting defeat setting Graeme Souness on a slippery slope, while our AZ exit in 2007 fatally holed Glenn Roeder below the waterline, after he surfed a wave of optimism in the wake of Intertoto Cup qualification to get the job in the first place. 

What matters now though (of course) is the Premier League and in a week when Sir Bobby Robson's name and legend was again evoked in connection with European adventures, it's worth recalling one of the principal strengths of his United side was to return from a midweek overseas game - and then do the business in the Premier League. No hangovers, no jet lag. 

Seeing an almost first choice team in action here though did make it evident that we had either fielded players with some pre-knowledge in playing these games (like the man mountain that is Sissoko) or we're learning on the job in terms of how to modify our usual behaviour. Not cheating, just playing the situation and appreciating what UEFA referees (incorrectly) deem to be foul play. 

The approach of opposition sides and the match officials is unlike anything you'll see in our domestic game and an adjustment to our style is required - losing the services of Tiote may have actually been a blessing.

United's Europa League adventure now extends to a dozen fixtures and to the previously uncharted territory of Russia, with last 16 opponents Anzi Makhachkala forced by UEFA decree to play their home ties in Moscow - almost 1,000 miles from their volatile native Dagestan.

That adds the problem of visas to the logistics of transport for the away travellers - something that thankfully wasn't required to visit the Ukraine - but that was of little consequence to those who applauded the team off at full-time before beginning the 2,000 mile trek back home. 

Things were a little quieter on the early morning flight back from Kiev a few hours later, but the victory celebrations continued for some, who were cheerfully downing pints at 6am - or in one case, Jagermeister and Martini - truly a breakfast of champions.

Biffa