Having dropped the missus off at the Metro Centre around 1 o'clock I made my way to the ground and found a handy little parking spot only 3 minutes away. As Liz Wyman was the only netter to have posted details of a meet and I was on my own I made my way to Rosie's. We met up and had a few pints, well I had a few, Liz was definitely sickening for something or very nervous as she seemed to be off her beer. We had a chat about how we would be made up with a point and Duncan's mysterious groin strain which was to keep him out of the Newcastle 16. Two of Liz's mates joined us about 2:15 and at 2:45 we set off to the ground.

42 seconds in and a lovely little drag back by the ever-improving Scot Gemmill saw him release the ball to the unmarked Don Hutchison. Don looked up saw Kevin Campbell's run into the box and slotted a perfect through-ball for Campbell to slot his shot under Shay Given. 1-0. Bloody Hell.

A Shearer flick-on sixty seconds later saw Maric with a clear run on goal but a good stop from Tommy Myhre saw the ball deflected for a corner. The referee then decided to stamp his authority on the game booking Craig Short for what looked like a perfectly legal tackle. Three minutes later Andy Griffin slotted the ball through to Maric, again unmarked in the box and Tommy had to come out to save bravely at his feet. David Unsworth could only wave his arm 'TonyAdamslike' as Maric went through unmarked.

Newcastle were awarded a dubious free kick 30 yards out and central to the goal. The Blues held their breath as Hamman stepped up. His drive had Myhre rooted to the spot but was fortunately 6 inches wide of Tommy's left-hand post.

On 32 minutes a Ketsbaia cross saw Shearer pushing Weir in the box with his elbow. Weir's flailing hand connected with the ball and even though Hamman tucked the ball between Myhre's legs and into the goal the ref had already awarded the penalty. Alan Shearer stepped up but put the ball at a nice height for Tommy who did well to parry the ball away to safety.

It was great to see Everton's midfield unit of Gemmill, Dacourt and Hutchison absorbing the pressure. All three comfortable with the ball at their feet going forward and able to pass the ball accurately whilst not afraid to get stuck in with a tackle.

A Hutchison snap-shot on 37 minutes flew just wide of Given's post. Then four minutes later Franny Jeffers had a good shout for a penalty of his own, having been upended in the area, but the referee wasn't interested (what with Jeffers being dressed in Blue).

It didn't matter however. Olly Dacourt brought the ball out on the counter and tried to free Jeffers. His pass struck Barton and fell into the path of Campbell. Campbell's first time flick nudged the ball out to the advancing Jeffers inside the box and his low cross into the six yard box found Campbell lurking. Campbell's tame touch looked easy for Given to collect but it somehow spun and slipped out of the Newcastle goalie's despairing grasp. 2-0. Get in there!

The banter with the Newcastle fans now started in earnest. Old refrains of "Stick your sexy football up your arse" intermingled with the rather bewildering "We're by far the greatest team" were met with replies of "Wembley, Wembley". Not allowing the Toon fans the last word, however, the Blues struck up with "You'll be running round Wembley with F*** all" and "Have you ever seen a cup?"

As I was sitting only 3 seats from a dumb Geordie, I did manage to personally enquire, Have you ever seen a cup? "Aye man, 1969" came the reply. "Sorry mate, wasn't born then." I replied (a bit of a lie, but sounded good and I thought I could pass for 29 ). "I think we've won eleven since then, it could be twelve" I continued. He shut up and turned away. A few rows back I heard a Geordie taunting another Blue with "Shouldn't you be out thieving?" "Nah, no time today, I had to shag your ma before the game." Came the Scouser's instant riposte.

Moral of this episode - Don't take the piss out of Blues, they're wittier and our team has by far a richer history.

Anyway, back to the match…

A Gary Shithouse Speed one-two saw him blaze a good chance over only seven minutes into the second half, much to the delight of the Evertonians. Another wave of Newcastle pressure resulted in a corner which fell to Maric again. His shot was blocked in the area by Campbell and Campbell needed treatment.

Some lovely work by Gemmil saw Campbell head the ball down to Jeffers, he instantly returned the ball to Campbell who brought a good save from Given with his last meaningful contribution to the match. He was replaced by BakoftheEcho due to him suffering from a 'dead buttock', I found out later via Five Live!

Having been backing in to Everton players all day and drawing fouls, Shearer went for broke and tried it in the penalty area. And guess what, it worked! This time Shearer made no mistake and with eight minutes plus injury time, we sat back and awaited the inevitable. Been here before we thought.

Some good work by Hamman on the left saw him cross the ball into the area. Saha's flick fell to Shearer in the six yard box but Myhre saved bravely again at his feet, and got a kick in his balls for his trouble! Cadamarteri replaced the hard working Jeffers with 7 minutes left. A Bakayoko header was headed away by Hughes, the ball fell to Scot Gemmill and he capped a good performance by drilling a right footed volley past Given right in front of the Everton fans. His smile said it all. Three points, thank you very much.

Not even the parking ticket on the car could dampen my spirits. £20 for 3 points, a small price to pay!!!

Everton:

• Myhre - 9 Man of the match with a string of very important saves, including Shearer's first penalty.
• Ball - 7 Better than recent performances.
• Dacourt - 8 Worked hard with some classy touches. Always a threat with the ball at his feet.
• Watson - 8 The heartbeat of the Everton defence. So much unseen work done marshalling his troops.
• Unsworth - 6 Okay, distribution still awful.
• Campbell - 8 A goalscoring centre forward! What's all that about? Duncan who?
• Hutchison - 8 We've missed his unflappable demeanour in the midfield. A class act.
• Gemmill - 8 One magical bit of control when the ball went into orbit and he killed it stone dead before laying off. Looks like a good buy for £250,000. Works well with Dacourt.
• Short - 7 Not my favourite player but did all that was asked of him and worked well in the defensive unit and put in a few good tackles.
• Weir - 6 Not a right back and was given a torrid time by Barton of all people!
• Jeffers - 8½ Ran all day and was at the heart of the Blue's best moves. Good movement and awareness.
• Bakayoko - 5 The usual half arsed display. Missed one sitter and was generally flapping his arms around instead of running back to help out.
• Cadamarteri - 5 Didn't really get a kick.

The goals followed a brace against Coventry last week by the former Arsenal and Nottingham Forest striker who is on loan from Turkish club Trabzonspor until the end of another gloomy season for the Merseysiders.

Ruud Gullit, the Newcastle manager, has five more games to get his team, and particularly his defence, in shape to face Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 22. Almost everything went Everton's way in their fifth away success. Even so, some Newcastle players clearly have stars in their eyes.

Last year while Everton were winning their fourth battle against relegation in five seasons largely due to the goals and grit of Duncan Ferguson, Newcastle made a stumbling approach to the final and a disappointing defeat by Arsenal. They should have learned that nothing less than total effort keeps a team in tune.

"We played some excellent football today, but the desire was not there and you cannot win without it," admitted Gullit. "I was particularly pleased with David Beharall [making his debut aged 19], but a few senior players were not taking their responsibilities. Everton wanted to win this game and deserved to do so. We can only be disappointed in ourselves and the players know this.

"I don't point the finger but you need to perform every week. Beharall had the desire, but he's only a young boy. I'm particularly happy for him, I think he played an excellent game. But I think that the rest have to look in the mirror."

Everton play Charlton at Goodison Park next Saturday and wind up yet another struggle for survival against Southampton. "We rode our luck at times," admitted Walter Smith, the Everton manager, no doubt grateful that Ferguson, whose departure last November was so stunningly sudden, was not fit enough to return and haunt his former club.

Ferguson will doubtless be fit to play against Manchester United and take some of the weight off Alan Shearer's shoulders.

"It's better than it was two games ago," Smith added. "We've got two good wins. We were really disappointed with the one we lost to Sheffield Wednesday at home where we played well and gave the game away. But we've recovered well from that and even today's results went well for us, so the home game against Charlton is a huge one for us.

"We've got the situation in our own hands with two home games left. If we win those home games you are looking at 43 points. I think everybody sets their target at 40 points. It's difficult to tell now because there are so many teams. That's us close to Sheffield Wednesday and above Coventry again."

The game could not have had a happier start and more pleasing conclusion for Everton. They were a goal ahead inside the first minute when gaping gaps reminded Newcastle supporters that their defensive technique has always been suspect, without necessarily making them blame the three young and inexperienced players – Beharall, Aaron Hughes and Andy Griffin – on duty yesterday.

Campbell was allowed to glide a pass by Don Hutchison beyond goalkeeper Shay Given with disturbing ease.

When Shearer missed his second penalty of the season, Thomas Myhre saving spectacularly, it could not be other than Everton's day.

A minute from half-time Newcastle faltered again. Francis Jeffers cruised to the byline on the right and Campbell stuck out a foot to the low cross and the ball rolled over the line off Hughes's leg.

Campbell desperately hopes that he will not have to return to Turkey when his loan expires at the end of the season. There was also a hint Everton may negotiate to sign him permanently. "We'll look at the situation then," added Smith.

Myhre made a number of brave saves, twice most notably at the feet of Shearer who made ups for his earlier miss by beating the Everton goalkeeper with his second penalty in the 82nd minute.

The veteran Dave Watson made at least one notable tackle when he blocked the shooting chance of his former team-mate Gary Speed after his fluent link-up with Temuri Ketsbaia.

Scott Gemmill belted a careless clearance back into the net from the edge of the area two minutes from the end and Everton left with smiling faces. Only Houdini did it more often.

Talking to Goodison Park patrons in recent weeks has often been rather like listening to a stuck record as they lamented: "If only we had a decent centre-forward." Well, judging by Campbell's two first-half goals, now they have – and probably just in time to preserve Premiership status. All that remains is for Walter Smith, Everton's manager, to muster the cash to secure his on-loan saviour a permanent transfer from Turkey.

Everton were ahead after 43 seconds. David Unsworth, who proved reassuringly commanding throughout, won the ball down the left and knocked it forward for Don Hutchison. Although brought up as a fanatical Newcastle supporter, the Gateshead-born midfielder had no compunction about passing impeccably to Campbell.

With Newcastle's defence bisected, Campbell found himself on side and unmarked with only Shay Given to beat. As the goalkeeper moved off his line, he unleashed a beautifully low, totally unstoppable shot destined for the bottom corner. The former Arsenal and Nottingham Forest forward was certainly making life tough for Newcastle's novice central defensive pairing of Aaron Hughes and the debut-making David Beharall.

While the latter recovered to exhibit growing promise, the right-footed Hughes was forced onto the left of this duo and looked consequently uneasy and uncomfortable, continuously drifting towards his preferred side and going to great lengths to avoid using his left foot.

Even so, Newcastle really should have equalised when Andy Griffin cleverly played in Silvio Maric. With the well-placed Alan Shearer screaming for a simple square ball, Maric inexplicably elected to attempt a wild shot and the chance evaporated. Small wonder that he immediately felt the full chill of a withering Shearer stare.

In the 33rd minute, England's captain struck a penalty, awarded after David Weir's handball. His rising kick was magnificently saved by Thomas Myhre. Having guessed correctly and dived the right way, Myhre gleefully repelled the sub-standard effort, pitched at precisely the sort of height that always promises a save.

As half-time beckoned, Given failed to perform similar heroics, instead fumbling a close-range shot from Campbell, permitting the ball to trickle tantalisingly across the line for Everton's second goal and the striker's fourth in two games.

Newcastle's defence had been all too easily dissected by deft passes from Olivier Dacourt and Campbell, before Francis Jeffers raced clear down the right and provided the final incisive, goal-prompting, cross. In mitigation, Given might argue that Campbell's shot took a slight deflection off Hughes.

Presumably galvanised by Ruud Gullit's half-time homily, Newcastle raised the second-half tempo, almost reducing the deficit after an intelligent inter-change involving Temuri Ketsbaia and Gary Speed. Everton had the impressive Unsworth to thank for a vital, last-ditch interception which denied Speed as the former Evertonian shaped to score.

Despite twisting and injuring himself when helping to charge down a shot by Warren Barton, Campbell still proved sufficiently elusive to force Given into a difficult diving save before hobbling off to be replaced by Ibrahim Bakayoko.

By now Gullit had adjusted Newcastle's formation, leaving three at the back and deploying Rob Lee and Barton as wing-backs. But although Lee tested Myhre's reflexes with an adroit turn and low shot, Everton still menaced on the counter-attack, with Bakayoko only denied by Given's one-handed stop.

On came Nolberto Solano in Ketsbaia's stead, the Peruvian's right-wing arrival permitting Lee to shift into a central midfield role from where he immediately started exerting a much greater influence. Suddenly Newcastle seemed dangerous and Shearer duly spiced up matters courtesy of an 82nd-minute penalty awarded after Dave Watson tugged his shirt as he connected with the fast-improving Beharall's eye-catching cross. This time, Shearer made no mistake from the spot, sending Myhre the wrong way with a beautifully struck low effort.

It was eclipsed by Scot Gemmill's exquisitely executed late goal, though. Dispatched first time from the edge of the penalty area, the ball arrowed into the bottom left-hand corner, simultaneously easing Smith's relegation angst.

Gullit's charges will have to play appreciably better against Manchester United in next month's FA Cup final – otherwise they will surely be in for an extremely rude awakening.

Their former captain, with his Everton tattoo, did not appear in black and white. The towering Scot was deemed diplomatically unfit for action, despite his influential return in Newcastle's FA Cup semi-final victory last Sunday.

Ferguson, in fact, was nowhere to be seen as Walter Smith's boys in blue rolled back the years and eased the threat to Everton's 45-year top-flight status. With two first-half goals Kevin Campbell doubled his scoring tally on loan to the Toffees from Trabzonspor, joining Ferguson, Ibrahima Bakayoko and Danny Cadamarteri as one of Everton's joint top scorers in the Premiership this season. More importantly, he helped Everton to their first victory on Tyneside since Boxing Day 1986, a 4-0 success en route to a second championship in three seasons, their last hurrah as a major force.

Everton have been members of England's top division since the 1954-55 season, the most recent, coincidentally, from which Newcastle have claimed a major domestic prize. The trophy cabinet remains cobwebbed at St James', but Geordie minds yesterday were on Wembley, whence Jimmy Scoular returned with the FA Cup the year Bill Haley was rocking around the clock. On Thursday, Ruud Gullit's players were posing for the cameras in their Cup final kit and their thoughts were clearly drifting down Wembley way yesterday – as their manager lamented: "They were not hungry. They did not have Everton's desire."

They did not have the same defence which held out against Spurs last Sunday, either. In place of the injured Steve Howey and the suspended Nikos Dabizas, David Beharall and Aaron Hughes formed a teenage central-defensive partnership with a combined age of 38, just one year more than Dave Watson's.

It did not take long for their inexperience to show. With 42 seconds on the clock, the debutant Beharall was caught napping when Scott Gemmill found Don Hutchison 30 yards from goal, and the Geordie Evertonian fed the ball in Campbell's direction on the edge of the Newcastle area. While Beharall hesitated, the one-time Gunner seized his chance, firing a low shot past the diving Shay Given.

Everton, whose FA Cup hopes came to grief at St James' last month, could scarcely believe their good fortune, though they were soon obliged to make their own luck, Thomas Myhre thwarting Silvio Maric with a fine reflex save in the second minute. Myhre blocked another Maric shot before heroically saving the third opportunity that came Newcastle's way. It arrived in the 32nd minute when David Weir handled Temuri Ketsbaia's cross from the right. The Scotland right-back protested that his hand had been forced by an Alan Shearer push but Graham Poll pointed to the penalty spot and Myhre, diving to his right, pushed Shearer's kick wide.

Fortunately for Everton, Given was in less inspired form. The young Irishman keeps a vial of holy water in his goal but it did not stop him making an almighty blunder two minutes before the break. Campbell did well to meet Francis Jeffers' low cross with a first-time shot but Given was perfectly positioned to save it. Instead, however, the Newcastle goalkeeper was left clutching thin air as the ball slipped under his body.

The natives were not amused and their mood was hardly improved by the succession of chances Newcastle frittered away. Ultimately, Everton could afford the luxury of Shearer scoring with his second attempt from the spot, after David Unsworth was punished for pulling the shirt of the Newcastle captain in the 82nd minute.

With two minutes left a Hughes header dropped to Gemmill whose 20-yard volley sailed past Given at a rate of knots. It was not as spectacular as his father's dazzling effort against Holland in the 1978 World Cup but it left a big smile on his manager's face. "We're in a better position than we were two games ago," Walter Smith said. "The win against Coventry last Sunday and the one today has been good for us."

As the Everton manager made his departure, the alarm bell sounded in the press room. Everton may have avoided the ghost of Ferguson, but Graham Stuart is due back at Goodison with Charlton next Saturday. And then, of course, there is the small matter of a last-day game with another old Evertonian – the trip to Dave Jones' locker on the south coast.

It was unusual, though, to see a boss of the boys in blue unflustered by an audible signal of distress.

Smith talked on and on, and with hope in his heart, amid the clanging din in the Newcastle press room. It proved to be a false alarm. The only fire at St James' Park on Saturday was in the bellies of Smith's players.

If they keep the flame burning, the latest alarm about Everton's first- class status may prove to be a false one too. They might even earn the luxury of a final day fixture with nothing but pride at stake, for them at least.

Davy Jones is sure to have more in his South Coast locker on 16 May than Ruud Gullit did on Saturday. His players, having paraded in their Wembley kit on Thursday, embarked on their FA Cup final preparations in the emperor's new clothes.

Their shortcomings were evident from the moment the team sheet arrived. Duncan Ferguson, despite his impressive return at Old Trafford the previous Sunday, was deemed unfit for action.

Being accustomed to wearing his heart on his sleeve, and still possessing an Everton tattoo on his left forearm, it was probably just as well that the Gladwys Street icon did not appear in black and white. It was just as well, too, for Everton that naked ambition was difficult to detect among Ferguson's new colleagues.

That much was clear after 42 seconds, the time it took Everton to find the back of the Newcastle net. David Beharall's hesitation allowed Kevin Campbell to shoot his first goal, though the 19-year-old debutant was not the only one caught napping, Scot Gemmill and Don Hutchison having been granted the midfield space and time they needed to contrive the opening.

Campbell profited from similar laxity two minutes before the break, turning in Francis Jeffers' low ball from the right thanks to Shay Given's slow motion dive. On loan to Everton from Trabzonspor, Campbell now jointly tops their Premiership scoring chart for the season, joining Ibrahima Bakayoko, Danny Cadamateri and Ferguson on four goals.

At the other end, Thomas Myhre had been Everton's saviour in the 32nd minute when David Weir was penalised for handball and the Norwegian dived to keep out Alan Shearer's spot kick. Ultimately, however, the Toffeemen could afford to come temporarily unstuck eight minutes from time, Shearer beating Myhre from the spot after David Unsworth was punished for tugging the shirt of the Newcastle captain.

They finished as they had started, Gemmill lashing a 20-yard volley past Given. It sealed Everton's first win on Tyneside since Boxing Day 1986 when the team that Howard Kendall built went on to win their second title in three seasons.

The seasonal target this time is more modest. "If we win our two home games we should be safe," Smith said.

The cause of this emergency was not immediately apparent, although the suggestion was that Newcastle United had felt their fingers burnt, but the interruption failed to provoke histrionics. Throughout Everton's calamitous campaign, Smith has maintained a rare and impressive dignity; victory, even one as significant as this, was not to prompt any noticeable change.

The reticence of the manager was not matched by his team's supporters, who, buoyed by the lack of progress made by those sides below them, celebrated with predictable gusto. Beating Charlton Athletic at Goodison Park next weekend - "Newcastle have got their Cup Final, but that's ours," Kevin Campbell said - would lift them to 40 points and probable safety.

The vibrancy of this performance serves only to make their harrowing travails all the more peculiar, although the arrival of Campbell, 29, on loan from Trabzonspor has added a muscular dynamism to their forward line.

A delicious through-ball was delivered by Don Hutchison after barely 40 seconds, allowing Campbell to outsprint David Beharall, who was making his debut, and direct a firm shot beyond Shay Given. A more substantial reward came on the stroke of half-time, when, after good work by Francis Jeffers, Given failed to clutch Campbell's innocuous flick. Four goals in two games is not to be scoffed at.

Given's flapping was an accurate measure of Newcastle's day, a sullenness settling after the heroics of their FA Cup semi-final. Duncan Ferguson's sole involvement against his former employer was to telephone a local journalist to protest at his treatment in the morning newspapers, Silvio Maric wasted two gaping opportunities and, untypically, Alan Shearer could only convert one of two penalties.

"The desire wasn't there," Ruud Gullit, the manager, said. "It is like having a Ferrari and only using four gears. You might blow up the engine."

At the back, Newcastle remain delicate, racked with injury and nerves. Within 24 hours of Steve Howey, his centre half, being carried off on a stretcher at Old Trafford, Gullit was boarding a flight to France to hasten the signing of Alain Goma, the Paris Saint-Germain defender. The £3.5M transfer cannot be completed until the summer, however.

It had been expected that Everton's season would finish in similar, chaotic fashion, but Scot Gemmill's 20-yard drive in the 89th minute allows them to shape their own destiny. Hutchison, an exiled Geordie, spoke of sharing his relief. "My mum lives ten minutes round the corner, although as she's a Newcastle fan, I'm not sure how happy she'll be to see me," he said. Another set of eardrums ringing on Saturday night.

Charlton Athletic     1-1  Leeds United             20,043
Stuart 20                  Woodgate 25
Coventry City         1-2  Middlesbrough            19,231
McAllister 72              Kinder 64, Gordon 82
Liverpool             0-1  Aston Villa              44,306
                           Taylor 33
Manchester United     3-0  Sheffield Wednesday      55,270
Solskjaer 35, Sheringham 44, Scholes 62            
Newcastle United      1-3  Everton                  36,775
Shearer pen:82,            Campbell 1,43, Gemmill 87
Nottingham Forest     0-1  Tottenham Hotspur        25,181
                           Iversen 63               
Southampton           3-3  Blackburn Rovers         15,209
Marsden 22, M Hughes 62,   Ward 14, Peacock 25, 
Pahars 85,                 Wilcox 47
West Ham United       5-1  Derby County             25,485
di Canio 19, Berkovic 27,  Wanchope 79
Wright 54, Ruddock 63,                                         
Sinclair 67                                        
 

Chelsea               2-2  Leicester City           34,535
Zola 30, Petrescu 69       Duberry 82:og, Guppy 88

Arsenal               5-1  Wimbledon                37,982
Parlour 35, Vieira 49,     Cort 70
Thatcher 56:og, Bergkamp 57,
Kanu 59

Charlton Athletic     1-4  Tottenham Hotspur        20,043
Kinsella 5                 Iversen 57, Campbell 79
                           Dominquez 89, Ginola 90

Liverpool             0-1  Leicester City           36,019
                           Marshall 89
Sheffield Wednesday   1-1  Newcastle United         21,545  
Scott 52                   Shearer pen:44

Club                          P    W    D    L   GF   GA   GD   Pts
Manchester United            32   19   10    3   73   32   41   67
Arsenal                      33   18   12    3   48   14   34   66
Chelsea                      33   17   13    3   49   26   23   64
Leeds United                 33   16   11    6   53   29   24   59
Aston Villa                  34   14   10   10   45   39    6   52
West Ham United              34   14    9   11   39   41   -2   51
Middlesbrough                34   12   14    8   46   42    4   50
Derby County                 33   12   11   10   37   41   -4   47
Tottenham Hotspur            33   11   13    9   40   38    2   46
Liverpool                    33   12    8   13   57   43   14   44 <Safe
Newcastle United             34   11   10   13   45   50   -5   43
Leicester City               33   10   13   10   35   41   -6   43
Wimbledon                    34   10   11   13   38   55  -17   41
Sheffield Wednesday          34   11    6   17   39   40   -1   39
Everton                      34    9   10   15   31   41  -10   37
Coventry City                34   10    7   17   35   47  -12   37
Blackburn Rovers             33    7   11   15   35   46  -11   32
------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlton Athletic            34    7   11   16   36   48  -12   32
Southampton                  34    8    7   19   31   63  -32   31
Nottingham Forest            34    4    9   21   30   66  -36   21