Darius Vassell justified his inclusion at the expense of the axed David Ginola by scoring the goal which powered Aston Villa into the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Villa manager John Gregory left Ginola on the substitutes' bench after his poor performance against Liverpool at the weekend but he was hardly missed as Vassell took his chance with a vengeance.

The England Under-21 striker troubled the Magpies with his pace and trickery throughout and he got his just desserts with his first Villa goal for 28 months.

His only two other goals for the Midlands club came in a UEFA Cup tie with Norwegian part-timers Stromsgodset in September 1998 as Villa came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 with three goals in the last eight minutes.

Since then Vassell has had limited opportunities and been held back by a series of niggling injuries.

But he showed signs of the undoubted potential which recently earned him a new four year contract as Villa clinched a home tie with Leicester City in ten days time.

Victory was no more than Villa deserved for they dominated proceedings for the majority of the 90 minutes in front of a poor 25,387 crowd.

The return from suspension of the tough tackling and industrious George Boateng and the lively Lee Hendrie were significant factors after the dreadful showing against Liverpool.

With Paul Merson also producing his usual excellent performance, only poor finishing and some good saves by Steve Harper prevented Villa from winning by a more comfortable margin.

Instead they had to survive a nervy last 10 minutes as Newcastle threw caution to the wind.

But the statistics show that Villa keeper David James had only one worthwhile save to make as Newcastle badly missed suspended duo Kieron Dyer and Nol Solano.

Villa took command from the first minute with Vassell quickly making his presence felt.

He sent a snap shot just over the bar after a run and right-wing cross from Steve Stone and then twice came within inches of breaking the deadlock.

First the England Under-21 striker hit the post from close range following a free-kick by Lee Hendrie and, after seizing onto the rebound, his follow-up effort was headed off the line by Aaron Hughes.

Villa midfielder George Boateng came in for some rough-house treatment in the early stages and was twice on the end of crude challenges from Gary Speed and Christian Bassedas.

Vassell then turned creator as he carved out an opening for Dion Dublin but he directed his shot straight at Steve Harper when well placed.

The Newcastle keeper then held onto a curling effort from Vassell as Villa continued to enjoy the lion's share of possession.

Harper came to Newcastle's rescue eight minutes before the interval with a fine one-handed save to deny Stone after he was sent clear of the Newcastle defence by Alan Wright.

Villa suffered a setback on the stroke of half-time when skipper Gareth Southgate had to carried off with a serious looking knee injury after a challenge by Shola Amoebi.

All Newcastle had to show attacking-wise in the first 45 minutes was off-target efforts from Kevin Gallacher and Bassedas.

Then four minutes into the second period, Vassell finally got some tangible reward for his efforts when he put Villa ahead.

Barry and Boateng combined before finding Merson on the right flank and his cross picked out the onrushing Vassell who turned the ball back across Harper via his knee and somewhat fortuitously into the opposite corner of the net.

Villa were now totally in the driving seat and came close to doubling their lead when Boateng screwed his shot across goal after exchanging passes with Hendrie.

But Newcastle came close to equalising in the 63rd minute with their first decent opportunity of the game.

Andrew Griffin's pass found Kevin Gallacher free of the Villa defence but David James timed his challenge to perfection to take the ball away from the Newcastle striker.

Back came Villa and Hendrie shot wildly when well placed while at the other end Shola Amoebi was off target after being closed down by Alan Wright. But it was too little, too late from the visitors.

Teams:

Aston Villa: James, Wright, Southgate (Barry 45), Alpay, Staunton, Hendrie, Boateng, Stone, Merson, Dublin, Vassell (Walker 78).

Subs Not Used: Ginola, Samuel, Enckelman.

Goals: Vassell 50.

Newcastle: Harper, Griffin, Hughes, Marcelino, Goma, Acuna, Bassedas, Speed (Barton 45), Glass (Lua-Lua 60), Ameobi, Gallacher (Cordone 70).

Subs Not Used: Given, Gavilan.

Booked: Bassedas.

Att: 25,387

Ref: P Durkin (Dorset).