Ding dong but Magpies too strong

Despite lying more than 120 places below Newcastle in the footballing pyramid, Yeading's blend of plasterers, painters and wallpaper makers turned in the performance of their lives to ensure that the romance of the FA Cup flourished at Loftus Road.

Second-half goals from Lee Bowyer and Shola Ameobi might have spared Newcastle's blushes, but they did little to tarnish the euphoria that was etched on the face of every Yeading player at the final whistle.

Players like goalkeeper Delroy Preddie who walked away with VIP passes for the Ford Rally and a free service for his Ford Escort after shutting out Newcastle's multi-million pound strikeforce for the whole of the first half.

Or like 23-year-old Campbell who is now set to earn a Football League contract after previously failing to make the grade at both QPR and Aston Villa.

Try telling them that the magic of the FA Cup is dead this morning and you will get pretty short shrift.

If ever a game encapsulated why this competition continues to hold a special place in the English footballing psyche, this was it. Combined with Exeter's heroics against Manchester United, Yeading's part-timers proved that fame and reputation are no match for old-fashioned effort and endeavour.

Newcastle's superior fitness and preparation eventually pulled them through but, for long periods, the club's Premiership superstars carried worried expressions as Yeading's tough tackling and disciplined defending kept them at bay.

They had reason to be concerned. The Magpies had lined up against sides from outside the Football League on five post-war occasions before yesterday and, on each occasion, they had failed to win at the first attempt.

Hardly a good omen - and Souness's team selection suggested he was in no mood to take any chances as he sought to prevent the name of Yeading from being etched alongside that of Hereford on Newcastle's roll of dishonour.

Both Jean-Alain Boumsong and Celestine Babayaro took their United bows less than a week after signing for the club, while Craig Bellamy returned to the side after shaking off his knee problem.

But, while Newcastle's line-up included six internationals, the Premiership outfit were unable to break the deadlock in a surprisingly closely-fought first half.

Things could have been very different had Newcastle taken the lead after just 71 seconds but, when Laurent Robert missed the first of a succession of first-half chances, Yeading's players inevitably sensed that luck was on their side.

That feeling grew as the game progressed, along with a gradual realisation that Newcastle were not the free-flowing Premiership demi-Gods they had been built up to be.

Instead, the Magpies were the same stuttering outfit that had stumbled to a goalless draw at West Brom last Monday - a mishmash of disparate parts that lacked both cohesion and, for the most part, class.

Robert's second-minute miss came from the kind of long-ball move that was supposed to be the preserve of the non-leaguers. Ameobi headed Steve Harper's punt into the Frenchman's path but, with the goal at his mercy, Robert prodded tamely at Preddie from eight yards.

Bowyer missed an even easier chance in the tenth minute - turning Ameobi's right-wing cross wide from inside the six-yard box - and Bellamy went closest to breaking the deadlock ten minutes later when he rattled the crossbar after chipping Preddie.

The Yeading goalkeeper also played his part in keeping the scoreline level before the break with a wonderfully agile tip-over from Jermaine Jenas and a routine near-post stop from Ameobi.

But while Newcastle could point to four first-half near misses, the catalogue of chances told only half the story.

It said nothing of the spirited resistance displayed by the part-timers, or the assured passing and movement that regularly unsettled their illustrious opponents.

There was a great deal to admire in so much of Yeading's football, with skipper David Clarke holding his own against two England internationals at the heart of midfield and Campbell twice turning Boumsong inside out with his twisting and turning.

Campbell, who had spent Saturday at Loftus Road watching his beloved QPR, played with the cockiness of a striker who has already scored 27 goals this season. If Sven-Goran Eriksson had ventured into west London to watch Ameobi, he would have left noting that the England wannabe was overshadowed by a warehouse courier whose football earns him £100 a week.

He would also have winced at the efforts of Titus Bramble. The Newcastle centre-half looked like a novice even at this level, and Souness' decision to haul him off at half-time provided a damning indictment of his dire display.

His rash tackle almost led to Clarke grabbing the lead, but the property developer's 20-yard free-kick took the slightest of deflections before being turned round the post by Steve Harper.

Yeading's resolve was finally broken six minutes into the second half, although it took the best passing move of the game to engineer a breakthrough.

Ameobi sent Bellamy scampering away down the right, and the Wales international was alert enough to roll an intelligent square ball across the face of the area for an unmarked Bowyer to guide home from close range.

The energetic Bowyer went close to doubling United's advantage shortly after - drilling a half-volley over the top from no more than six yards - but the 5,000 Newcastle fans did not have to wait long for another goal to celebrate.

Ambrose curled a right-wing free-kick into the penalty area, and a back-pedalling Ameobi steered a deft header past Preddie's left hand.

Any more goals would have been harsh on Yeading but, while Bowyer and Bellamy both went close to adding to Newcastle's tally, the non-leaguers almost had the last laugh.

Darti Brown chanced his arm from 30 yards with one minute left, and Harper was at full stretch as he tipped the ball round his left-hand post.

Result: Yeading 0 Newcastle United 2.

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