AFTER an evening in which Newcastle United were outfought and outthought, the most dramatic and unlikely of fightbacks salvaged a point from Anfield.

Trailing 2-0 with ten minutes remaining, Newcastle's players were a bedraggled bunch and appeared resigned to their fate when Gary Speed halved the deficit.

Still an equaliser seemed beyond them as Liverpool pressed forward in search of a third goal, yet they had not allowed for the indomitable spirit that carried Newcastle to fourth place last season.

Laurent Robert won a corner down the left, and from the Frenchman's flag-kick Alan Shearer rose highest to power a header low beyond the reach of Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.

Liverpool, the victors in two titanic 4-3 encounters in this fixture in 1996 and 1997, were devastated. They had been made to pay a heavy price for a lengthy catalouge of misses - with Michael Owen the biggest culprit.

Yet Newcastle might have even snatched a winner in stoppage time. Dudek was fortunate that Shearer's close-range effort, from the impressive Robert's cross, was straight at him rather than a yard either side.

But claiming a draw was footballing larceny on Newcastle's part; victory would have prompted the equivalent of a stewards' inquiry, such was Liverpool's early dominance.

Certainly, a draw seemed a near-impossibility for the vast majority of a game that the hosts, for whom a win would have secured top spot in the Premiership, were in complete command of.

After Newcastle had done everything but lay a goal on a silver platter for Michael Owen, their nemesis finally scored to put Liverpool 2-0 and seemingly out of sight.

Having wasted at least four fine opportunities to open his goalscoring account for the season, Owen slotted home a penalty 17 minutes from time after Nikos Dabizas had been penalised for clambering all over Sami Hyypia.

Owen has now scored 13 times in nine games against Newcastle, who fell behind in the 53rd minute when Dietmar Hamann grabbed the goal that Liverpool had been threatening all night.

Rarely can Sir Bobby Robson have seen his side so outclassed in his three years at the Newcastle helm, and he has now gone 29 games without a win as a player and manager at Anfield.

But a point - nay, a goal to their name - was more than they looked like getting for all but the dying stages.

Indeed, an unseemly spat between Speed and Kieron Dyer early in the second-half appeared to sum up their evening.

But the introduction from the bench of Robert and Craig Bellamy, both of whom were making their first appearances of the season, galvanised a Newcastle attack that laboured against Liverpool's twin towers of Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz.

Within two minutes, Dudek had turned a Robert shot against the base of the post and Shearer saw his effort from the rebound hacked clear by Hyypia.

Even so, the finale was impossible to predict when Hamann opened the scoring. Goalkeeper Shay Given's clearance fell to Nolberto Solano 30 yards from his own goal, but as he dithered so his erstwhile Newcastle teammate collected possession and waltzed through before sliding his shot inside the far post.

Owen doubled Liverpool's money with an assured finish, sending Given the wrong way, yet Newcastle dug deep and simply would not be cowed.

Earlier Owen, who traditionally fills his shooting boots against Newcastle, had had the sort of first-half that one had thought was beyond such a player so educated in the art of goalscoring.

He ought to have added to his tally against the Magpies inside 13 minutes, only for Aaron Hughes to hack his goalbound shot clear from inside the six-yard box after Owen had skated past the cumbersome Dabizas.

The unheralded Hughes came to Newcastle's rescue again just three minutes later after an appalling mix-up involving Dabizas, Titus Bramble and Given presented Owen with a golden opportunity to score his first goal of the season.

The three Newcastle players left a harmless long punt forward to each other, and immediately Owen's predatory instincts kicked in as he whipped the ball away from the trio.

As Owen shaped to shoot, however, Hughes took the ball off his bootlaces and Given was able to snuff out the danger with a modicum of effort.

Given was able to fall on another Owen drive before the England striker, clearly straining every sinew in his attempts to break his goalscoring duck, afforded Newcastle the mother of all let-offs in the 35th minute.

As Bramble slipped in the centre circle, so Owen pounced, and he galloped goalward before checking inside Hughes - who this time could not spare his teammate's blushes.

Surely Owen couldn't miss this time, could he? Oh yes he could - and what a miss, somehow conspiring to clip his shot high and not so handsome.

Newcastle's goal led a charmed life during a first-half in which Liverpool, deploying Owen as a lone striker and Emile Heskey on the left of midfield, were in complete command.

Robson's players were second-best to their opponents all over the field, and Hamann and Heskey had already gone close before Owen's masterclass in how not to score a Premiership goal.

Newcastle were struggling to get a foothold in the game, a Dyer shot that was too close to Dudek and an acrobatic effort from Lomano LuaLua that flew high into The Kop their sole attempts on goal as their defence was forced to work overtime to preserve the deadlock.

Liverpool's only first-half worry, save for their inability to break the deadlock, was an ankle injury to Gerrard that saw the England midfielder receive four minutes of treatment before he was able to resume.

Gerrard was immense in the second-half, yet even his presence could not prevent Newcastle coming back from two goals behind.

Liverpool will wonder how they let two points slip; Newcastle won't care.

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