Newcastle United 2, Barnsley 0.

WHEN Michael Owen scored his first goal at St James' Park for Newcastle United, Graeme Souness was manager, Freddy Shepherd was chairman and a certain Alan Shearer was his partner in attack.

A lot has happened since September 24, 2005, but Owen's failure to add to his Tyneside tally has been one of the few constants during a period that has proved equally traumatic for both player and employer.

There have been times when the injury-plagued 27-year-old appeared destined not to score a second goal at St James' but last night, as he fired a workmanlike Newcastle side through to the third round of the Carling Cup, the striker finally suggested that his own fortunes could also be about to change.

Making his first start of the season in front of on-looking England boss Steve McClaren, Owen underlined his enduring qualities as he raced on to Shola Ameobi's 57th-minute through ball and slipped a precise finish past the onrushing Heinz Muller.

It was neither the most polished goal he has ever scored, nor the most emphatic. But after he went through the whole of last season without a single domestic success, it could well prove to be one of the most important.

Owen's last goal in Newcastle colours had come in December 2005 and, while June's international strike in Estonia had proved that his goalscoring instincts had not deserted him entirely during a succession of lengthy lay-offs, his early-season form has smacked of a player struggling to regain his touch.

Much of last night's performance continued in the same vein, with Owen's control and timing repeatedly falling short of the exacting standards he set himself in the early stages of his career.

Occasionally, though, he produced a glimpse of his obvious quality, a series of tuning-up exercises that eventually built to his goalscoring crescendo.

Much of his early work went unrewarded, such as the 15th-minute burst between defenders Dominik Werling and Dennis Souza that ended in a rising drive that Muller claimed at the second attempt, and the 45th-minute cross-shot that appeared to strike the arm of full-back Rob Kozluk.

But when Owen was presented with the game's one genuine opening, he was alert enough to dispatch it with aplomb. If Allardyce was delighted to see the striker off the mark, McClaren, preparing for crucial European Championship qualifiers against Israel and Russia, will have been positively euphoric.

From Newcastle's point of view, it was just as well that Owen flickered into life when he did, because the majority of the home side's attacking play left plenty to be desired.

With Barnsley's five-man midfield ensuring that space was at a premium, the Magpies struggled to carve out a goalscoring opportunity of note before the deadlock was broken midway through the second half.

Nolberto Solano whizzed a deflected long-range strike past the left-hand upright after Muller failed to clear Geremi's early corner but, with Alan Smith struggling to exert any influence from the right flank, an unbalanced Newcastle side toiled away ineffectively.

Smith's arrival has provided Allardyce with a conundrum that he is currently struggling to solve. On the evidence of last night's display, which was far more energetic than effective, stationing the England international on the right of a midfield four is not the answer to the Magpies' general lack of creativity, particularly when his desire to cut inside is mirrored by Charles N'Zogbia on the opposite flank.

Indeed, with Newcastle's lack of incision allowing their opponents to settle, the hosts could even have found themselves behind at the interval. Werling's 25-yard free-kick was heading for the bottom left-hand corner before the returning Shay Given beat it to safety.

Nicky Butt replaced the disappointing Emre in the early stages of the second half but, with creative qualities needed rather than combative ones, the former Manchester United midfielder did little to change the course of the game. That, perhaps predictably, was left to Owen.

Ameobi's 57th-minute through ball sent the England international scampering clear of a Barnsley defence that was caught static for the first time and, while his side-footed finish lacked power, it was precise enough to slip under the body of the advancing Muller.

Obafemi Martins had only been on the field for 120 seconds, when he controlled Solano's chip with his back to goal before swivelling to drive a right-footed finish past Muller.