Newcastle United maintained their place at the summit of the Coca-Cola Championship despite being held 2-2 by Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. The Magpies drew first blood in the North East derby, courtesy of former Rangers winger Peter Lovenkrands’ dipping effort after just 16 minutes play.

Midfielder Barry Robson, a January buy from Celtic, evened up the score for Middlesbrough ten minutes before half-time as the Toon failed to make the most of their dominance. After the break, former Celtic striker Scott McDonald sent the home side into a 74th-minute shock lead, making it a good day for former players of the Old Firm.

The league-leaders continued to dominate proceedings but, with a whopping 63% share of possession, they struggled to create the chances their play deserved. However, the equaliser finally came in the 82nd minute courtesy of another header, Newcastle’s main source of goals this term, as Andy Carroll rose high to power in a deserved leveller.

Chris Hughton’s men preserved their position at the top but saw a two-point chunk bitten out of their lead after second-placed West Brom won 3-2 at home to Blackpool.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest’s automatic promotion hopes took a major knock as they went down 3-2 to Preston. Swansea failed to fully capitalise on Forest’s slip up as they were held 0-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday, but the Swans remain comfortable in 4th spot.

Martyn Waghorn scored the only goal of the game as surprise-package Leicester kept up their play-off hopes with a 1-0 win over 6th-placed Cardiff. Outside the top six, Coventry remain in the hunt for a play-off finish but were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Plymouth Argyle.

New QPR boss Neil Warnock returned to his old club Sheffield United but was unable to keep up his 100% record with Rangers as they were held 1-1. Doncaster cemented their position in the top half with a 2-1 win over Derby at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Elsewhere, crisis club Crystal Palace grabbed a further point towards safety as they drew 0-0 away to Barnsley while Reading continued their resurgent form with a comfortable 2-0 win over Bristol City.

Ipswich had 16-year-old debutant Connor Wickham to thank for all three points as his injury time winner sealed a 1-0 over Scunthorpe town. Meanwhile, basement club Peterborough revitalised their slim survival hopes with a 1-0 win over Watford at Vicarage Road.
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Everyone loves a Geordie and there’s something about Newcastle United’s fight to stay in the Premiership which is capturing everyone’s imagination.

Even non-football fans were rushing home on the night of May 11 to catch up on the Toon’s score-line following their vital derby encounter with Middlesbrough, also battling against relegation.

It was not only the Toon Army jumping for joy at Newcastle’s fantastic 3-1 victory. Perhaps it’s the ordinary man in the street’s love affair with Alan Shearer, a man who in his playing days saved England on so many occasions, or an affinity with likeable Geordies that’s caused so much interest. In any event, it wasn’t just the manager, players and die-hard fans who went to bed happy.

Newcastle produced an exhilarating display of guts and determination just when it was needed. But boy, did they make poor old Shearer suffer. In just three minutes, United had scored. Unfortunately, it was in the Middlesbrough net, courtesy of the gutted Habib Beye who bundled the ball over the line as keeper Stephen Harper and Tuncay tangled in the box.

At this point, Shearer must have been wondering what on earth he had to do to turn the tide and secure Newcastle’s first victory under his reign. He did not have to wait too long. In the ninth minute, Steven Taylor equalised, making it everything to play for.

Stalemate would have been acceptable but not enough to lift either Newcastle or Middlesbrough out of the doldrums. Under-fire Michael Owen tried his best, having his best shot brilliantly saved. But Owen is not brimming with confidence now his place is not guaranteed and it showed.

So was it a shrewd act of judgement or just plain luck that the game turned for Newcastle following Shearer’s introduction of two substitutes? Who knows and who cares? Just 55 seconds after being brought on for Owen, Obafemi Martins made it 2-1 for the Toon, sending the crowd wild. Even Shearer admitted he was dumb-founded.

“You make substitutes at the time hoping to make an impact but I would be a liar if I thought they would make an impact that quick!” he later confessed.

But then it happened again. Sub Peter Lovenkrands showed it was no fluke as he scored on 86 to make it 3-1 to Newcastle on one of the biggest nights of their history.

You could virtually touch Shearer’s joy as he described the feeling as “magnificent”, praising his side for their character and giving their all. You could not have written a better script had you tried. As the manager says, the victory was a long time coming and everyone needed it.

Now, staying up seems to be very much in their hands and it would be a brave man to bet against Newcastle repeating their victory, this time against Fulham at St James’ Park on May 16 and then away to Aston Villa on May 24. All eyes will be on the Fulham game as three points will be absolutely crucial.

Meantime, Newcastle are finally out of the relegation zone, having crept up to 17th with 34 points, the same as Hull. A disappointed Middlesbrough are on 31 as are West Brom.

There is everything to play for and the Toon Army will be lifting their side as they walk on to the pitch for their last two games. Add to that a battalion of new fans who will be hoping Shearer can once again turn on the magic.

Newcastle United have given themselves a glimmer of hope in the Premier League relegation fight after a thumping 3-1 victory over Middlesbrough last night. The victory creates some inspiration even though it does not dramatically improve their position, while it virtually condemns Boro to Championship football next season.

It was in fact Boro who took the lead within the first couple of minutes as Habib Beye turned into his own net. Stephen Taylor made the scores level with a header from a corner before Obafemi Martins and Peter Lovenkrands added goals late on.

This really was a case of a must win match for Newcastle who have been opened up to reports left, right and centre about how disastrous it would be if they went down from the Premier League. The victory will put smiles back on faces and finally create some confidence on St. James’ Park that has been lacking in recent times.

The whole team and crowd seemed up for the match and Boro really had no answer, Gareth Southgate looked helpless and they are now faced with the task of having to rewrite their budget and downgrading the contracts of their players.

Alan Shearer refused to get carried away, admitting there is still work to do. He said: “The club needed it, the players needed it, we all needed it. But there is still a long way to go. I don’t want to sound negative but it’s one win. We have got to get another two and make sure we are safe.”

He is quite right, for all of the euphoria the victory created Newcastle are very much still rooted to the bottom three places in the table. They will have to play out of their skins in arguably harder matches as well as hoping that Hull City’s poor form continues. However, if they do manage to get safe then this victory could well be looked at as the turning point in the dogfight.

For Boro the immediate future is very bleak. The show of faith that was given to Southgate has not been repaid and there will be people calling for his head, maybe the end of the season is the right time to go. The club is rapidly stagnating and unless something is done very quickly they may well be just a Championship club with a big ground for the next few seasons.

Boro showed a lot of guts and heart but Newcastle just had too much quality for them. Unless a miracle now happens they are doomed. Southgate said: “We’re in the last chance saloon and we’re relying on other results. At the moment we’re out of it but six points might be enough and we can’t afford to stop, you never know.”

It is nice to see so much courage in the face of ultimate defeat but Boro could do well to cut their losses right now and start restructuring for next season. By hanging onto this hope they are effectively wasting time that could be better used.