By Nick Raynor
January 9 2005

Newcastle triumphed 2-0 over a determined non-league side Yeading in the FA Cup 3rd round.

Yeading will be very proud of their performance, going in at the break with it being 0-0 and occasionally looking like the better team.

 

Jean-Alian Boumsong, Newcastle’s £8 million signing was looking to impress on his debut but twice conceded a free-kick in a dangerous position, the second one giving Emond Protain a glorious chance with his head but he nodded it over the bar.

 

Newcastle were patient, and the deadlock was nearly broken when a great run to the byline by Ameobi set up a pass that Lee Bowyer tried to slide into the net but it fell wide for 3 yards.

 

Yeading breathed a sigh of relief on 19 minutes when Bellamy rattled a sitter onto the crossbar afyer the pass from Ameobi.

 

Following that was a Jermaine Jenas piledriver, which forced Preddie into a brilliant finger-tip save.

 

Yeading’s best chance fell to Clarke with a free-kick from 20 yards out which he superbly curled round the wall and needed a fully-stretched Harper to tip round the post.

 

Yeading went in at half-time with the score at 0-0, fully deserving the scoreline. Yeading simply looked like a league side in the first half and they would be keen to continue this way in the second half.

 

It was not to be though as 5 minutes after the restart, Newcastle finally found the net in the form of Bowyer who had a goal-line tap-in he could not have missed with his eyes shut.

 

Just after the hour, Ameobi secured a 4^th round spot for Newcastle with a powerful header into the bottom corner.

 

The game died down after that, but Yeading, showing great spirit, were unlucky not to get a goal for their efforts at the death when Harper saved Darti Brown’s fierce strike.