Alan Pardew:

"I just think we've shown real solid team performances in the three matches so far, without really getting a break in front of goal.

"So many times we could have got a break tonight and we could have got a second or third goal and it didn't happen for us. I'm hoping to get a break on Saturday, we just need one break - it would be nice to score two or more goals on Saturday. 

The way Palace play, how quick they are on the break, you sense that they could score, so it might mean we do need to get two or three goals so that's what our focus must be.

"The scoreline didn't really reflect our dominance.

"I've been here many times as a manager. I've played here, and done a lot of scouting here too.
"It's a very, very difficult place to come. And yet we controlled the game more or less all the way through. I'm pleased but a bit frustrated we didn't score more than the one.

"They gave up a lot of space in midfield to play that extra centre-half. It was difficult to penetrate their three centre-halves but I can't be too disappointed, I thought our application to the game was great. Our two centre-halves typified that, particularly the skipper.

"Absolute respect we showed Gillingham tonight, and that's how you get wins at places like this."

Peter Taylor:

"The players couldn’t have worked any harder and they had to work hard because Newcastle had some very skilful players. The game is all about belief. At times we had belief and sometimes we didn’t.

“I was a bit disappointed with them first half, with the way we started. We played long balls and we didn’t try and link the midfield but just before half time, Pritchard started playing to Hess, he started playing to Bradley Dack and then we started playing more. That’s when the belief came in.

“That’s the only thing I am disappointed in. We didn’t have 90 minutes of belief. We had it at certain times.

“That’s the main thing the players will learn out of it. When you go onto the pitch, whatever the opposition is, you have to go out there believing you are a good player and believe you can do the job you are in the team for. 90% of the time we did that but there were a few times we could have believed a bit more.

“They will come off the pitch and be quite pleased with the way they played, not all of them and sometimes you have to learn from it, but the majority of the boys put in a good shift off the ball and also showed some character on the ball.”

“It was fantastic - it was nice to have got through the first round and been given the opportunity to play against such a big club like Newcastle United.

“A lot of the fans don’t get a chance to watch Premier players and so it was brilliant that they did and brilliant that they turned up in numbers as well because that helps the club a lot.

“The discipline from the players was good, the effort was terrific and we worked hard as a team. I said to the players I have no complaints whatsoever on that front.”
 

Tonight's three high points: we won, got through in 90 minutes and it didn't rain. Well, hardly. 

Actually make that four: the Dartford Tunnel was open afterwards and toll-free, meaning we could make our escape from this god-forsaken place at minimum cost and maximum permissible velocity.

Since the demise of Maine Road, it's hard to recall a more miserable route to an away end than Priestfield Road - a residental terraced street that doubles as the local dump and is strewn with countless loose bags of rubbish, two discarded fridge/freezers and other pieces of furniture. 

To cap it all off, one of the houses had a window decorated with SAFC stickers, but in a new-found spirit of Tyne-wear togetherness these remained intact. Either that or the non-existent street lights meant that toon fans hurrying past didn't see them. There was plenty of ammunition lying around... 

Approaching the away turnstiles is reminiscent of Wormwood Scrubs, but once inside the ground itself is neat enough on the other three sides. The away section though is a joke and having been erected in 2003 is hardly a short-term solution (locals suggest plans to relocate the club away from the town to a new site have been drawn up but there's no time frame).

In statistical terms, Newcastle gained a first competitive win of the season at the third attempt, but in reality much of our pre-season was played out at a higher intensity than this only intermittently competitive encounter.

Certainly Siem De Jong could have been forgiven for thinking that his second Toon start in England was a continuation of the first - a bland kickabout against League One side Oldham Athletic.

The Dutchman may have gleaned from his tour of the "Toon Times" exhibition that cup football in this country has a unique intensity and atmosphere, but none of the anticipation or fervour associated with a giant-killing feat was present here tonight. This was a million miles away from Stevenage.

Of course it may well be that those of us schooled in the perpetual underachievement of watching this club aren't used to witnessing a professional display that stifles the smaller side and has the tinfoil cup-wielding, painted face brigade sloping off for a burger.

Alan Pardew selected a starting XI that could for once claim to be genuinely rotated rather than weakened never looked in trouble but only seldom posed any genuine goalscoring threat before or after going ahead midway through the opening half. That remains a genuine concern.

United's approach play was positive and with little in our way, momentum was built up as Aarons and Obertan presse down the flanks, pinging over crosses with varying degrees of accuracy - some crying out to be attacked, others more suitable to be tracked by the Chatham coastguard. 

A roll call of Premier League casualties elsewhere (Manchester United, Burnley, Leicester City and West Ham) was a reminder that pitfalls do exist in this competition, but equally seeing the likes of Palace, Stoke and the mackems rattle a few goals in during their ties was cause for a little envy.

Our failure to extend that advantage proved to be irritating but not costly, with thoughts of other previous punishments of our profligacy leading to extra time only occasionally coming to mind - and mostly when we needlessly mucked about in defence and almost invited Gillingham to press on. 

Massadio Haidara did slam an effort from distance off the crossbar in the second half, but other than that there wasn't a great deal to get the travelling contingent behind that goal animated. Riviere's search for a competitive toon goal was again fruitless, while the slender advantage meant that loan forward Facundo Ferreyra stayed on the bench and Ayoze Perez and Yoan Gouffran were entrusted with some late pitch time to see the game out.

So, the desired outcome from a slightly strange and passionless affair, but in terms of highlighting inadequacies or drawing conclusions regarding squad selections, then forget it. In years to come it will require explanation why Hatem Ben Arfa played and scored for the reserves a day earlier, but wasn't involved here in Kent while Obertan and Abeid got the nod. 

The rift between that player, his manager and certain members of the squad seems unbridgeable at present but unless Ben Arfa exits in the next week, his talent cannot be ignored if last season's goalscoring issues prove not to have been resolved by this summer's transfer activity.   

Biffa