Half time: U's 0 Toon 0

46 mins Barely 50 seconds after the restart, United conceded a right wing corner that was played short and centred by Chris Maguire for Chey Dunkley to head back across goal and Kane Hemmings to bundle home from close range in front of the home support in the East Stand 0-1

(66 mins Aleksandar Mitrovic penalty saved)

79 mins Curtis Good made a vital interception at the expense of a corner down the Oxford left. Rob Hall sent that over to the back post for Curtis Nelson to shrug off a half-hearted challenge by Isaac Hayden before heading home 0-2

87 mins Another corner; another goal. Dunkley and Liam Sercombe combined for the former to cross from the right and unmarked striker Toni Martinez to loop his header beyond Sels for his first senior goal just 17 minutes into his debut. Martinez is on loan from West Ham and scored twice for them against Newcastle U23s back in August. 0-3

Full time: U's 3 Toon 0

U's boss Michael Appleton:

"For me personally, with the squad Newcastle have got, this surpasses beating Arsenal at the Emirates when I was at Blackburn (in the fifth round four years ago). That's how big this is.

"This feels fantastic. It won't be long before Newcastle are plying their trade in the Premier League and, with the squad they've got, they'll be challenging in the top half, I believe.

"We tried to press really high and we had to be brave. We rode our luck at times but it was a fantastic performance. It was when we got the second goal that I felt we were going to do it.

"The save from the penalty probably gave the players more belief that we could win the game than if we'd got a goal then - it was massive. Eastwood had to make two very, very big saves with his feet (from Mitrovic in the first half).

"I said at half-time to the players, 'You won't get a better chance to get into the fifth round'.

"Kane Hemmings wasn't going to play, originally, but there has been interest from a club (Plymouth Argyle) for Ryan Taylor so he got his chance. To be fair, the cup competitions have been good for Kane. I still want him to score more goals in the league, which I am sure he will.

"Toni (Martinez) has got a hell of a career ahead of him. He's just turned 19."

Referee David Coote awarded a penalty that the Serbian took - after conferring with Achraf Lazaar - only to place it too close to Eastwood and see the 'keeper making a successful diving block.

We simply never recovered from that blow and although Yoan Gouffran and Matt Ritchie were both introduced from the bench, neither Mitrovic or Perez offered any semblance of a forward threat.

Two further goals followed; both stemming from corner kicks and both driving more malcontented away fans towards the exits. A small number meanwhile remained until the bitter end, with some fighting amongst themselves and verbally abusing visiting players after full time. They had every right to do so, but reserved their wrath for those on the field. Others pointed the finger at Rafa. 

Ritchie escaped any wrath but far too may of the rest had shown absolutely no appetite, desire or fight for the cause. Once again Hayden failed to fill Jonjo Shelvey's boots adequately in the centre, both he and Perez pirouetted in attempts to win fouls rather than actually attack with purpose.

Gamez and Lazaar were clearly unaware of how to approach a game like this, while both Good and Haidara were unsurprisingly well off match fitness. Playing the second senior games of their entire careers meanwhile, Barlaser and El-Mhanni did their best but looked totally out of their depth. 

Opinion is divided as to whether there was a political element to the team selection, but what is apparent is the lack of depth and quality beyond a matchday core of 18 players. Given that we've now given pitch time to 33 players in all competitions (not including Elliot or Krul) this season, that's one hell of a lot of excess baggage. 

A completely different line-up should take to the field against QPR on Wednesday; none of those given starts today justifying their inclusion. For Sels it may yet be his last act of the season, while our Serbian liability may just have brought down his own curtain.

Mitrovic was little short of a disgrace. Looking overweight and slow as he returned from a three week layoff, his lack of brainpower quickly shone through when attempting to elbow an opponent (missed by the officials) and reacting to abuse from home fans with some sarcastic applause.  

Sulking around like a petulant child, the penalty miss and blatant lack of effort afterwards merely highlighting his huffiness. The opposite of whole-hearted and utterly undeserving of any mention in the same breath as previous Newcastle players who had a physical reputation. 

The annoying thing was that when he occasionally applied himself, the home side looked absolutely scared stiff of him. One episode in the first half when he held off a trio of defenders reminiscent of former Magpie (and Oxford) battering ram, Billy Whitehurst. 

Maybe it's adding another club to a list that includes Chester, Exeter, Stevenage and Brighton that meant we were ambivalent about this defeat, although anyone present without those campaign medals is perfectly entitled to vent their spleen. 

Our first loss at Oxford was in the League Cup back in 1983/84, when as is the case currently we were two leagues down and the hosts were one below that. Fast forward a few months though and annoyance at that was replaced by sheer jubilation at having achieved a return to the top flight.

We remain a relegated team, looking to recapture some of our (very) faded glory. If advancing via a replay before being howked by a Premier League team in the next round while league fixtures pile up around us was our fate, get out now and forget about it. 

The chances of us reaching Wembley in the FA Cup were so remote as to be unthinkable; avoiding a trip there in the playoffs remains our main objective. Stuff romance; anyone looking for that should have gone to see La La Land at the adjacent cinema.
 
Biffa