I wasn't confident before kick-off. Carlos Tevez was absent through bereavement - joining Cristiano Ronaldo, Owen Hargreaves, Ji-Sung Park, Anderson and Nani on the absent list.

For that reason I, for perhaps the first time ever, bet against a United victory. In a moment of madness I dabbled on Martins to break the deadlock - and the score to end in a 1-1 draw. A 100/1 shot - followed by a guilt-filled trip to the bookies on Monday morning to collect a ton as I benefit from United's failure.

Confession over. It'll all go back into the club's coffers anyway - it should pay for an extra away trip.

United were not at their best. Missing a flurry of stars, we looked ordinary going forward and passes continued to go astray.

Fraizer Campbell worked his socks off in attack but hasn't yet developed an understanding with Wayne Rooney. The 20-year-old has a great early chance for the hosts as his powerful header was palmed off the line by Shay Given and hurriedly cleared by a panicked Barcodes backline.

Given was in exceptional form and produced a superb double-save to maintain parity when he blocked a Rooney strike and then showed great reflexes to deny Paul Scholes' follow-up.

United may feel aggrieved as James Milner appeared to handle a Ryan Giggs strike - but, to be truthful, Newcastle were good value for their point and had a handful of opportunities to snatch the points after the break.

Newcastle grew stronger, however, and broke the deadlock on 22 minutes. After a string of corners, Martins rose unchallenged and powered a header to his left and passed Edwin van der Sar.

3,000 Geordies celebrated as if they'd ended their 29-year wait for silverware - but their celebrations were short-lived Fletcher poked home a low Ryan Giggs cross just ninety seconds later.

The Toon, however, didn't let their head drops and to their credit continued to push forward looking to regain the lead. They drilled forward in numbers - Nemanja Vidic making a last-gasp tackle to deny a certain scoring chance whilst, at the other end, the Serb smashed a header against the crossbar.

We were some way off full-strength and the substitute's bench was lacking anyone who could change the game. Rodrigo Possebon added little on his league game, whilst fellow Brazilian Rafael Da Silva, a full-back, made his eagerly anticipated debut but bizarrely came on for Campbell despite United chasing the game.

Overall, a thoroughly entertaining start to the season - but United must improve if they are to repeat last season's heroics. It's Pompey again next Monday - and the Reds will be desperate to pick up their first win.

Full Time - Manchester United 1-1 Newcastle United
Attendance - 75,512

Manchester United: Van der Sar, Brown, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick (O'Shea 25), Scholes, Giggs (Possebon 63), Campbell (Rafael Da Silva 80), Rooney.
Substitutes Not Used: Kuszczak, Neville, Evans, Gibson.

Newcastle United: Given, Beye, Taylor, Coloccini, N'Zogbia, Milner, Butt, Guthrie, Gutierrez, Duff, Martins.
Substitutes Not Used: Harper, Jose Enrique, Bassong, Smith, Geremi, Edgar, Donaldson.

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