Another fine defensive display from centre-back Titus Bramble helped Newcastle maintain their winning run, following an uninspiring 1-0 victory over Belgian counterparts, Zulte Waregem. The stocky centre-half has undoubtedly impressed over the past two matches, and one hopes that he can continue his good form into the Premiership matches to come. On the whole though, it was a drab and lifeless performance from the Magpies, Martins’ 68th minute goal a rare spark of quality.

United, having made only one change from the previous leg, switched the disappointing Albert Luque for Antoine Sibierski, who had found the net last week in Gent. Luque however, could not follow in his predecessor’s footsteps; a tame and thoroughly lacklustre performance from the Spaniard will have done little towards forging his way into the apathetic supporters’ good books.

Despite the general disappointment of the Magpies’ performance, the side were never in doubt against a spirited, yet thoroughly limited Belgian side, who had rested seven of their starters from the previous week. The domination of the Newcastle side however, was not enough to excite the 30,000 Geordies who had flocked to St James’, who were, in the end, forced to sit through an hour and a half of unwillingness and negativity.

Nevertheless, the side started promisingly. Steven Taylor’s powerful header was expertly cleared off the line after only 4 minutes. Only a few minutes later, James Milner saw a cracking drive fizz over the bar, after a smart passing move from the right-hand side. That, though, was about as close as the Toon came to a goal; Dyer’s powerful long range drive was straight down the throat of keeper Boussut, whose palms were definitely stung.

A thoroughly frustrating first half for the Magpies it was turning out to be, and it was no surprise that the Belgian part-timers caught Newcastle out on a couple of occasions. Both Sebastian Siani and Lowden Vannieuwenhuyse had to be hauled down by Bramble and Taylor respectively, while the onrushing Harper looked on.

The frustration of the crowd was perhaps taken out of hand come the end of the first half, an echoing hum of boos and whistles vibrated through the stadium, as Newcastle failed to break down the somewhat inferior opposition. Luque and Martins were subdued to the point of silence throughout, though to be fair, neither were getting effective support from the wings. Damien Duff was failing to justify his hefty price tag - with a lot of huffing and puffing but no end product. Something witnessed not for the first time from the Irish ‘wing wizard’. And Milner, who appears to be craving for a break, had improved only slightly from his average performance last Wednesday.

The troops waddled into the changing rooms with the score tied at 0-0 - something of a contradiction from what the Ladbrokes boards had been advertising in the morning. It was a mightily poor first half. No one appeared to have any desire to get on the scoresheet. It was all very negative.

And unlike last week, things did not pick up come the second period. The Newcastle ‘attacks’ continued to be lethargic and the ball seemed unwilling to budge from the Magpies’ half.
Chances were few and far between once again; Man of the match Bramble had an unlikely surge into the penalty area, but his shot was easily clutched by Boussut.

Martins then saw a disappointing header flash wide from 6 yards, as the Nigerian’s frustrating evening didn’t appear to be getting any better. However, the Toon eventually broke through with 20 minutes to go; Damien Duff’s superb pass split the defense in two, and Martins was on hand to exquisitely chip the ball over the helpless goalkeeper, and into the net.

It was a rare stroke of sheer quality that brought the goal, and turned out to be the only piece that the crowd were to witness. Milner’s curling free-kick went close in the closing stages, but there was little else to get the crowd’s pulses racing. However, the introduction of Andrew Carroll, masterful in the academy side, had warmed the hearts of the Geordie nation as he replaced the hopeless Luque.

It was Newcastle’s first clean sheet in 17 games, as they booked a clash with AZ Alkmaar of Holland in the Last Sixteen.