Jonjo Shelvey inspired Newcastle to a 3-1 victory over Birmingham to book a date with Oxford in the FA Cup fourth round.
Shelvey was at the heart of all Newcastle's good play on his return from a five-match ban, playing a key role in all three goals as a Matt Ritchie brace and Yoan Gouffran saw off the beleaguered Blues.
The introduction of Lukas Jutkiewicz sparked Birmingham into life in the second half but they could only muster a solitary reply from David Cotterill.
The result means the Blues are still without a win in seven games under the watch of Gianfranco Zola.
With promotion back to the Premier League the overriding priority, Rafa Benitez shuffled his depleted pack and handed senior debuts to youngsters Dan Barlaser on his 20th birthday, Stuart Findlay and Yasin Ben El-Mhanni, whose claims to fame include working as a body double for Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
But it was Shelvey who stepped back into the limelight as his ninth-minute through-ball allowed Gouffran to escape from City skipper Paul Robinson and attempt to round keeper Adam Legzdins.
Referee Lee Probert pointed immediately to the spot after Gouffran was bundled to the ground and Ritchie converted with the minimum of fuss.
Shelvey himself tested Legzdins from distance with a dipping effort, but the keeper needed the help of a post to keep out Gouffran's audacious flick from Achraf Lazaar's 29th-minute cross.
However, the Frenchman increased the Magpies' lead within six minutes when he controlled Shelvey's free-kick with his back to goal before spinning and dispatching the ball into the bottom corner.
Ritchie would have had his second of the night three minutes before the break had his shot not come back off the inside of a post, but the lead was no more than Newcastle deserved despite Cotterill going close on three occasions during an early flurry from the visitors.
The Magpies repeatedly hit Birmingham on the counter after the break, but failed to take their chances and were made to pay when Cotterill's miss-hit 71st-minute shot eluded keeper Matz Sels.
Jutkiewicz might have levelled five minutes later but headed over, and Ritchie finally killed off the tie in stoppage time with Shelvey once again the architect.