Shearer returns to haunt an old friend

If revenge is a dish best served cold, then Alan Shearer chose the appropriate conditions to send his former club out of the FA Cup last night. It was freezing beneath the Pennines in Blackburn, but Shearer did not care. He scored his 24th and 25th goals of the season, the second his 250th career goal. A simmering Lancashire hotpot.

The result will add further encouragement to the growing feeling on Tyneside that Newcastle United will reach Wembley for the third consecutive season and that this time they will emerge triumphant. Tranmere Rovers, who Newcastle knocked out two years ago, await at Prenton Park in the quarter-final.

Even with Shearer in this form, however, Newcastle should not be complacent. If Tranmere create the same amount of chances as Blackburn Rovers then David Kelly and co may convert more than the one Matt Jansen delivered here.

Jansen is a Newcastle fan and as such will have known that this was always going to be about Shearer the moment the supporters who used to praise him shouted abuse instead. "What a waste of money," was the chant. A little premature.

Shearer regularly insists that criticism does not affect him but just how annoyed he was last night soon became clear. Prior to his first, in the 20th minute, Shearer had already produced a useful header and an ambitious overhead kick, but when Duncan Ferguson leapt above Christian Dailly to head on Steve Harper's 70-yard clearance, Shearer was unmarked and sprinting towards Alan Kelly. In such situations there is usually only one outcome and it happened again. The goalkeeper picked the ball out of the net.

While Kelly did that Shearer started a provocative celebration in front of the Blackburn fans. It was a deliberate, inflammatory gesture. The locals' outrage was obvious. Shearer just smiled. Yet if Newcastle's travelling thousands thought they were in the ascendancy, their perception was quickly altered. Only six minutes after Shearer's opener, Newcastle's ponderous defence was slit open by the most basic of optimistic midfield passes.

It came from Per Frandsen and left Nikos Dabizas and Helder, the on-loan Portuguese centre half, flat-footed. Jansen, though, had a spring in his step and he rushed through to poke the ball beyond Steve Harper. Harper's charge off his line was rash.

Considering that either side of Jansen's goal Nathan Blake directed two unchallenged headers straight at Harper, Blackburn deserved their equaliser and with the skilful Damien Johnson replacing Lee Carsley at half-time - Carsley had stitches in an instep wound - the message was apparent: Blackburn felt they could get a second.

With 20 minutes of the second half gone that confidence was fully justified by Rovers's fluent, incisive football. Sadly for them, it was not topped by another goal. Harper, at fault once, was determined not to be so again and made three important saves in this period.

The first was from Jason McAteer's audacious lob, Harper back-pedalling; the second was a catch from a Blake header; the third a brave sprawl to block Jansen after impressive play from Blake and Frandsen.

How Rovers were to pay for that. Newcastle, having lost much of their earlier composure, were lacklustre. "We've won a match with several players not playing that well," said Bobby Robson afterwards.

But then, with 11 minutes remaining, substitute Didier Domi, who played well in his 22minute cameo, escaped down the Newcastle left and darted into the Blackburn area. Domi's grasscutter cross was behind the Rovers defence but in front of Kelly. No-man's land.

Not with Shearer around. And he was around, lurking at the far post. The winner was a formality, though off-balance Shearer almost missed. Almost.

BLACKBURN: Kelly, Grayson, Peacock, Dailly, Davidson, McAteer, Carsley (Johnson 46), Frandsen, Duff, Blake, Jansen. Subs Not Used: Ostenstad, Gillespie, Harkness, Fettis. Booked: Grayson, Johnson. Goals: Jansen 25.

NEWCASTLE: Harper, Barton, Dabizas, Pistone, Helder (Hughes 50), Dyer (Maric 89), Speed, Lee, Gallacher (Domi 68), Shearer, Ferguson. Subs Not Used: Fumaca, Given. Booked: Helder, Shearer. Goals: Shearer 21, 79.

Referee: P Durkin (Dorset).