PAUL GASCOIGNE took his Everton teammates on a guided tour of his old Geordie haunts - and rounded the day off with a glorious homecoming. This was Gazza's first taste of competitive action at St. James' Park for over 12 years since the one-time Mars bar kid was pelted with his favourite snack by home fans in a 2-2 draw on his Tottenham debut.

But Saturday's return was an altogether sweeter experience for Tyneside's prodigal son. He may not possess all his old tricks and the legs are certainly slower these days. But Gazza, looking leaner and meaner than he did in his previous incarnation at Middlesbrough, is still capable of turning a match with one moment of magic. Having helped to set up Everton's winning goal on his return to the Riverside last month, he left his calling card with Newcastle in similar fashion.

Ten minutes remained when Gascoigne, who had been both cheered and jeered by the home crowd, conjured a cunning back-flick which ultimately had devastating consequences for his former club.

Everton's Ghanaian international Alex Nyarko then released Gary Naysmith down the left flank and the substitute's low cross was fired home by Kevin Campbell at the far post. It also meant a happier return to the region for Gazza's fellow Newcastle old boy Steve Watson, who scored an own goal in the 2-1 win at Boro. And defender Watson, like Gascoigne rebuilding his career after a disappointing spell with Aston Villa, revealed that the former England midfielder was on a high after completing a North-East double.

"Gazza is still stuck to the roof and he won't be down for a while,'' said Watson. "He gets himself hyped-up for every game and gets nervous. "We travelled to the game from Slaley Hall and he spent the whole trip saying: 'I used to play here and I used to play there.' He was just delighted to be back in the area - and I'm delighted for him.

"If you'd seen him in the dressing-room afterwards, after what happened when he last played here, he was just relieved. "I played here with Villa two years ago and had a torrid time so it was important for me to get a decent performance under my belt, but more so that the team did well because we needed a good result.''

This was Everton's first win in five Premiership outings and the normally-taciturn Walter Smith waxed lyrical about the influence of 33-year-old Gascoigne, who produced a hard-working display.

"I think he's been playing like this for the last month,'' said the Everton boss. "His commitment has been terrific. The little bits of his game that we saw ten years ago might not be in place now.

"But nobody can complain about his performances of late. In this game, he had a job to do. He's never an easy player to get to do a steady job. If you ask him to do something, sometimes he gets a wee bit carried away in a game, but this time he did very well for us in a certain task.''

Like local rivals Middlesbrough, whom they beat 3-1 at the Riverside a week ago, Newcastle are suffering a loss of home form. Talk of manager Bobby Robson returing to the England job on a part-time basis was suggested by some observers as a factor in United's off-key efforts against Everton. But the defeat merely underlined an alarming trend which now extends to three successive Premiership home games - no goals and only one point. Watson, however, insists St. James' is still a fortress in the eyes of visiting teams.

He said: "I saw Newcastle at Middlesbrough and they looked excellent. I think Newcastle will be the first to admit they didn't perform as well as they did on Monday. "But Paul and I probably know better than anybody how hard it is coming here. It's the first time I've seen the new stadium from the inside and it's fantastic. "We knew we'd be under the cosh and to keep a clean sheet was just as pleasing for us as scoring the goal.''

Who knows? If the Newcastle board had been wavering over whether to release Robson for national service, Gazza and Watto may have helped to convince them that it is out of the question.

Goal: Campbell (80 mins). Bookings: Domi, Ball, Pembridge, Gravesen (fouls). Referee: Mark Halsey (Welwyn Garden City). Attendance: 51,625. NEWCASTLE (4-3-1-2): Given 7; Barton 5 (Gallacher 23 mins, 6), GOMA 7, A. Hughes 6, Domi 5; Solano 6, Lee 7, Speed 6; Dyer 6; Cordone 5 (LuaLua 61 mins, 6), Shearer 6. Subs (not used): Bassedas, S. Caldwell, Harper (gk). EVERTON (4-5-1): Gerrard 8; Watson 7, Xavier 7, Weir 8, Ball 6; Gravesen 7, Nyarko 7, Gascoigne 8, Pembridge 7 (Naysmith 70 mins, 7), Tal 7 (Unsworth 70, 6); Campbell 7. Subs (not used): S. Hughes, Cadamarteri, Simonsen (gk). MAN OF THE MATCH: David Weir - immaculate at the heart of the Everton defence.