99 and a half won't do....

Amid scenes of great joy on Tyneside, Michael Owen's record as the last Newcastle player to score a league winner against Manchester City was ended on Tuesday evening.

And to the consternation of Magpies fans everywhere, his claim to fame as our costliest-ever signing also seems set to be finally consigned to the dustbin of club history.

It's hard to say what looked the more unlikely before kick-off; taking three points from the defending champions after 22 unsuccessful attempts in a decade and a half, or spending £20m+ on a player.

Almiron - who is definitely a footballer, not a troubled High Street brand - is expected in the North East on Wednesday and may be followed by other loan signings to strengthen our squad. 

Reinforcements are on the way, but in keeping with the perpetual madness of this football club, the beleaguered garrison in this shabby fortress set their sights on goal for once - and hit the target. 

Twice. 

Pre-match talk and leaflets were of various protests against the owner (who wasn't present) taking place and the songs of rancour were quickly audible - especially when the visitors scored just 24 seconds after Newcastle had got the game underway. 

If our plan was to park the bus, then it must have been that knackered old one that Cliff Richard ended up driving in Summer Holiday....

A cross by Raheem Sterling found David Silva sliding in towards the far post to beat Martin Dubravka to the ball (and at first glance fouling the goalkeeper), guiding his header back across goal for Sergio Aguero to get ahead of Fabian Schar and expand his vast scoring total against us still further.

The same player had the ball in the net soon after, only for Kevin De Bruyne to be booked after taking the free kick too quickly and allowing Aguero to volley in. 

Newcastle's response consisted of shots by Ayoze Perez and Christian Atsu in quick succession, while the Citizens seemed to be firmly in their comfort zone - although Silva was denied either side of half time, firstly by Florian Lejeune's vital block and then an excellent parry by Dubravka.

With an hour gone and United still very much in the game, referee Paul Tierney incurred the wrath of home fans by neglecting to show De Bruyne a second yellow for a challenge on Matt Ritchie that certainly warranted a booking - and therefore would have seen the City sent off.

With Rafa doing his nut on the sidelines, the home side shared that sense of injustice and their attacks had what turned out to be a vital extra yard of pace. Ritchie found space to push forward on the left and his centre was headed out by Fernandinho but only to Isaac Hayden, who returned it goalwards for both Rondon and Atsu to pursue it through a crowd of defenders.

The Venezuelan forward got to it first and his toe poke into the ground from just outside the six yard box bounced up and eluded goalkeeper Ederson.

Even better was to come with 10 minutes of normal time remaining, when the outstanding Sean Longstaff was barged over in the area by Fernandinho and Tierney pointed to the penalty spot. 

The agony was prolonged while Ederson received treatment by two physios for an imaginary ailment, but Matt Ritchie held his nerve and rattled a spot kick into the Gallowgate net before demolishing the corner flag in glee as SJP absolutely erupted.

The remaining ten minutes and then over five minutes of additional time passed with relatively few moments of unease before an almighty roar signified the referee's final whistle.

You just couldn't write this. Incredible. Unbelievable. Typical.

Four days after our FA Cup exit, St. James' Park witnessed what can only be described as a giant-killing - even though the two teams are in the same division. 

It's easy to reflect on what's gone wrong here since the day that Owen beat City goalkeeper David James and celebrated with team mates like Alan Shearer. 

The two clubs have gone in radically different directions since the visitors became the de facto national side of a nation, but part of the disparity is in attitude and the willingness to invest in facilities and development as well as players. 

There is a middle ground between City's vast training and academy complexes and our lot cooling off in a blow-up Asda paddling pool. We can't aspire to be City, but Bournemouth seems unrealistic. 

Given our inability to amass a squad capable of competing in the cups though, the occasional one-off freakish result in our favour is the limit of our ambition - the very notion of a cup run enough to put a manager's job in jeopardy (just ask Pards during that Europa League campaign).  

He may have not had that much time on the ball, but Rondon made the difference tonight. That we remain one injury to a loan striker from a meltdown is a gamble that threatens to undermine anything else that we do. 

It's no shock that people are voting with their feet and packing in their season tickets, sick of what they've been served up year after year. We may well break our transfer record in the hours following this wonderful night, but unless that's the start of a new direction for this club it's no more than a slight rebalancing of the debt supporters are owed for tolerating this owner and his methods.


There was a winning SJP debut for 8 year-old Oscar Tait and seven year-old sister Sophia. 

Along with their family, the pair travelled from Australia following the 
recent death of their grandfather, ex-Magpie striker Alex Tait. 

One of his goals for the club helped United to a memorable 5-4 victory over City back in 1957.

Tonight also marked the first anniversary of Vic Keeble's passing, the Newcastle forward on target in the 1955 FA Cup Final win v City.   

Biffa