By Jebediah
July 24 2005

Newcastle yesterday took a step closer to UEFA cup football this season by beating Dubnica 5-1 on aggregate in the InterToto cup quarter final.

Many people were saying that the hard work was already done a week earlier when the Toon won 3-1 in Slovakia, however Souness refused to be complacent before the second leg at St James' Park.

Captain Alan Shearer added another two goals to his Newcastle collection, and it looks certain he will break Jackie Milburns club record of competitive goals.

The first came from a corner taken by James Milner, which was swung the ball in to the box and it was met by the head of Shearer who had lost his marker, and he made no mistake with the header. The number 9's second came right at the death, when again he finished with his head following good work down the right from full back Stephen Carr. The two goals took Shearers Newcastle total to 194; 6 off Milburn's record. He said after the game, "thankfully, they can not take those 2 goals away from me."

It was a relatively uneventful game, with Newcastle being rewarded for their patience more than anything else. Shay Given was very quiet in the goal, only being called in to action in the 33rd minute to make a routine save.

The first shot on target came after 20 minutes, when Milners shot was tipped round the post by the visiting keeper. Then Jenas hit the crossbar from a free kick before he had to be taken off injured. Shearer also hit the crossbar in the 86th minute after another James Milner cross, however he did not have long to wait for his second goal of the game.

After the match he praised the work of James Milner, saying his best position is just off the strikers where he can "use his pace to get behind defenders." Shearer also made the point of praising the quality of the service he received from Milner and Stephen Carr who provided a ball that "you can not defend against."

He also described the support as "incredible" after  over 25,000 people turned up to the match. He also said "thankfully we gave them something to shout about with the two goals."

Newcastle now go on to face Deportivo La Coruna in the semi final and we are most likely to be without Dyer, Jenas and Chopra. Whether Souness will give new signing Emre his debut remains to be seen.