Tottenham 1 Newcastle United 4: Michael Owen was on the scoresheet again as Newcastle took a huge stride towards safety with victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

Kevin Keegan's men fell behind to Darren Bent's opener but goals from Nicky Butt and Geremi put the visitors ahead before Owen scored his third in as many games for his club.

Obafemi Martins added a fourth with eight minutes remaining, latching onto Joey Barton's pass and finishing calmly to seal the points.

It took Newcastle into the relative comfort of 12th place, and with 35 points they can almost start looking towards next season.

Jonathan Woodgate welcomed the Newcastle staff he worked with at St James' Park - then almost gifted his former side a fifth-minute opener.

His careless clearance went as far as Habib Beye, who composed himself in the penalty area but cracked his finish off the crossbar.

In Newcastle's bright opening, Paul Robinson was called into action to stop Martins' low drive when he found a yard of room on the edge of the box.

It was an easy save from Robinson, but there was nothing straightforward about his stop to deny Barton, who angled a drive towards the bottom corner after Spurs failed to deal with a throw.

Spurs applied early pressure of their own, with Robbie Keane at the heart of their attacks. He sent Bent through but Steve Harper saved the tame shot.

Keane then had a penalty shout turned down when Abdoulaye Faye climbed on him to head clear, but for all his invention, it was Bent who opened the scoring in the 26th minute.

Steed Malbranque was given time on the left flank to switch the ball to his favoured right boot, then he swung over a cross that Bent glanced into the far corner.

Newcastle's equaliser came with seconds remaining in the first half, with Butt steering home after Geremi had pulled the ball back to the edge of the area.

Their second came in the 52nd minute after Woodgate had fouled Martins on the edge of the area. Geremi's free-kick went through the wall, leaving Robinson flat-footed.

Geremi could have inflicted more damage when he raced down the right but he was stopped by Jamie O'Hara, earning the Spurs youngster a booking.

The Ramos response was to bring on Aaron Lennon and Adel Taarabt, with Keane and Malbranque making way.

The third, however, arrived in the 65th minute from Owen, meeting Mark Viduka's flick with a first-time finish after Geremi played the ball into the danger zone.

Martins added gloss to scoreline, with his finish delighting the travelling support.