Alan Shearer's first goal in more than 1,000 minutes of Premiership football
launched Newcastle United onto the victory trail against Aston Villa.
The £15million man headed home Stephen Glass' cross after just four minutes,
and Temuri Ketsbaia made it two before the break as the visitors were totally
outplayed.
Paul Merson pulled a goal back with a fine shot, but the scoreline did not
truly reflect Newcastle's dominance.
Villa were strangely indifferent, especially at the back, and looked toothless
up front until they sniffed the chance of a draw late on.
But Ruud Gullit's side created more than enough opportunities to win
comfortably, only keeper Michael Oakes and the crossbar preventing a bigger
margin of victory.
Shearer led the way with a sterling display, and there were good performances
too from Ketsbaia and Glass on a massively encouraging afternoon.
Gullit was hit yet again by his injury jinx, with defenders Laurent Charvet
and Andy Griffin failing late fitness tests, Steve Howey and Warren Barton
returning to the starting line-up, along with Glass, who replaced Garry Brady in
midfield.
Second-placed Villa started with Merson and Julian Joachim in attack, but
troubled striker Stan Collymore, as expected, did not figure in the squad.
Gullit insisted this week that things were starting to come right for his
team, and the evidence of the first 45 minutes certainly bore that out.
United were rampant in attack and effective at the back, and Shearer's early
strike did wonders for their confidence.
The England striker, skipper in the absence of the injured Rob Lee, powered
home a fourth-minute header from Glass' cross to give his side the perfect
start.
Ketsbaia, frustrated at his lack of opportunities under Gullit, continued to
state his case with the sort of performance which excited the home supporters
when he first arrived on Tyneside.
The Georgian went into referee Rob Harris' notebook for carrying on with his
shot after Shearer was penalised for a 22nd-minute foul, but her was all smiles
four minutes later.
Shearer's neat ball inside former Magpie Steve Watson was perfect for Glass,
and when he slid his cross along the six-yard line, Ketsbaia shot home
unopposed.
And it could have been even better for the Magpies.
Shearer had already had an effort chalked off for pushing when Gary Speed
found Nolberto Solano down the right with a fine reverse pass.
The Peruvian stepped inside Gareth Southgate and laid the ball back for
Ketsbaia, but although he connected well from the edge of the box, his effort
was just too high.
Shellshocked Villa had little of any value to look back on, Joachim going wide
with a clever volley and Merson shooting past the post on the whistle.
But more worrying was their frailty at the back with Shearer giving Southgate
a torrid time.
And their problems were not helped when Ugo Ehiogu had to leave the field
after getting a kick in the face as he challenged Shearer for a bouncing ball,
Simon Grayson taking his place.
Newcastle continued in similar vein after the break, Oakes turning away
Dietmar Hamann's blistering free-kick within seconds of the restart.
But Villa got themselves back into the game after 61 minutes with a superb
strike from Merson.
Gareth Barry's ball was laid off by Joachim and the former Arsenal and
Middlesbrough striker thumped a right foot shot past Given and into the top
corner from 20 yards.
But United seemed undeterred, and went on to create a hatful of further
chances.
Ketsbaia shot just over after Harris unwittingly deflected Speed's ball into
the box, and Oakes produced a fine stop to keep out a Nikos Dabizas header from
Glass' 63rd-minute corner.
Andreas Andersson, on for Ketsbaia, should have done better when he got away
from Riccardo Scimeca but shot wide, and Shearer was unfortunate to see his
header come back off the crossbar after it looped over Oakes.
Andersson went high with a diving header from substitute Brady's 82nd minute
cross, but Given had to be on his toes four minutes later as Wright's spinning
volley took a wicked bounce in front of him.
And the keeper was grateful too see a Merson volley fly just wide deep into
injury time as Villa gave it one last throw of the dice.
Teams:
Newcastle: Given, Barton, Howey, Dabizas, Domi, Hamann,
Solano (Brady 81), Speed, Glass, Ketsbaia (Andersson 62),
Shearer.
Subs Not Used: Harper, Pearce, Hughes.
Booked: Ketsbaia.
Goals: Shearer 4, Ketsbaia 27.
Aston Villa: Oakes, Watson (Vassell 83), Southgate,
Ehiogu (Grayson 38), Barry, Wright, Scimeca, Hendrie, Taylor,
Joachim, Merson.
Subs Not Used: Rachel, Hughes, Lee.
Booked: Hendrie, Merson.
Goals: Merson 61.
Att: 36,766
Ref: R Harris (Oxford).
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