Owen sees off Sunderland

A brace from Michael Owen ensured Newcastle took all three points against Sunderland at St James' Park.

Two goals from England man gives Newcastle bragging rights in North East derby

A first-half brace from Michael Owen ensured Newcastle took all three points against Sunderland at St James' Park and guaranteed they will play Premier League football next season. The hosts grabbed an early lead as Geremi was given all the time in the world to pick out Owen, who did well to get ahead of Paul McShane and head the ball home. Complete Newcastle dominance followed for the majority of the half but, just when Sunderland started to improve at the end of the half, Owen rose to the occasion again. Battling to get through a throng of players, Owen attempted to flick the ball over Danny Higginbotham but, with the defender going down to challenge, it struck his arm and a penalty was given. Owen stepped up and powered the ball beyond the unfortunate Craig Gordon. Sunderland had the lion's share of the possession in the second-half as they looked to find a way back into the game, but a lack of invention and a well-organised Newcastle defence meant they were rarely able to test Steve Harper from inside the area.

Opener

It was just four minutes in when Newcastle captain Owen put his side ahead, ghosting in behind marker Paul McShane before rising to divert Geremi's cross home. St James' Park erupted, but as the visitors started to cause problems in the face of some haphazard defending, there was no room for complacency. Harper pulled off a smart 10th-minute save from Andy Reid's long-range effort after lone frontman Jones had headed on a long clearance, but on the whole Sunderland's five-man midfield was struggling to gain meaningful possession as Nicky Butt and Joey Barton enjoyed the better of a scrappy battle in the middle of the park. The home fans were appealing for a 36th-minute penalty after Obafemi Martins went down under McShane's challenge as he ran on to Owen's through-ball, but the referee correctly waved away Newcastle's lukewarm appeals. The visitors were starting to enjoy a greater share of the possession, but lacked the cutting edge to use it to any great effect.

Penalty

And it was 2-0 on the stroke of half-time that Higginbotham was penalised for handball after Owen and Viduka played a one-two around him and the former Liverpool and Real Madrid man blasted the spot-kick through Gordon. And Newcastle might have claimed a third goal just three minutes after the restart when they once again opened Sunderland up, this time down the right. Mark Viduka fed the ball beautifully into Habib Beye's run and Martins dummied the defender's cross to allow the unmarked Owen to collect. But the striker's control for once let him down and when he did eventually try to shoot, his effort was blocked easily. The visitors' response was to force a series of corners, which The Magpies just about defended as they came under sustained pressure for the first time in the game. Yet the Wearsiders were doing themselves few favours as they repeatedly surrendered hard-won possession cheaply to let The Magpies off the hook. They got it right with 57 minutes gone, though, when Jones headed down Danny Collins' cross to Andy Reid, and it took Nicky Butt's timely intervention to prevent the Irishman from getting the ball under control eight yards from goal. Roy Keane made a change a minute later when he replaced the ineffectual Carlos Edwards with Kieran Richardson and changed to a 4-4-2 formation with Murphy partnering Jones in attack. But it was Reid who went for goal once again two minutes later, curling a left-foot shot over Harper's bar, with the keeper concerned enough to track the ball all the way. However, Martins should have finished the contest with 68 minutes gone when he and Owen exchanged passes, but Gordon blocked the Nigerian's shot. It was Harper who had to be at his best seconds later when Jones headed Miller's cross towards goal, with the keeper palming the ball away to raucous applause. But there was little else in the way of meaningful Sunderland attacks. Keane threw on striker Michael Chopra with 10 minutes remaining in a bid to salvage a point. The former Newcastle forward's introduction and every touch were greeted by deafening boos by the St James's Park faithful, but he could do nothing to prevent The Magpies cruising to victory and earning local bragging rights.

Newcastle United	Team Statistics	Sunderland
2	Goals	0
2	1st Half Goals	0
4	Shots on Target	5
7	Shots off Target	5
1	Blocked Shots	6
4	Corners	4
8	Fouls	18
2	Offsides	0
0	Yellow Cards	5
0	Red Cards	0
70.2	Passing Success	67.2
26	Tackles	29
76.9	Tackles Success	72.4
49.7	Possession	50.3
42.6	Territorial Advantage	57.4