Newcastle fought their way out of the relegation zone as they defeated Middlesbrough 3-1 in the Tyne-Tees derby.

Shearer's troops give North-East neighbours that sinking feeling

Newcastle United fought their way out of the Premier League relegation zone as they came from behind to defeat Middlesbrough 3-1 in a blistering Tyne-Tees derby at St James' Park. With the agonising tension of a basement battle, and the possible financial loss of at least £50million that follows relegation, haunting a fixture between two goal-shy, occupants of the drop zone, the clash was not expected to be easy on the eye. Pre-match speculation suggested that a loser would be condemned to the second tier of English football come the end of the season. Such survival anxiety, however, was far from evident in a pulsating encounter as Habib Beye's own goal was cancelled out by Steven Taylor's header before substitutes Obafemi Martins and Peter Lovenkrands ensured Newcastle overtook Hull City in 17th place on goal difference. In the build-up to the encounter, Newcastle boss Alan Shearer, a domestic and international striking legend from his record-breaking playing days, labelled the game as the biggest of his career. And the sentiments of Shearer - who recorded his first win since taking over on a short-term basis at the beginning of April - were reverberating around the North East in the week prior to arguably the biggest Tyne-Tees derby in history. Middlesbrough, tagged as dead and buried earlier in the season before earning a fighting chance, were also well aware of the must-win importance of the meeting with their fierce, neighbouring foes. As he plotted a strategy for outwitting his former England team-mate, Shearer, Boro manager Gareth Southgate offered his players a four-day break from the club's Rockliffe Park training ground in order to escape the 'hullabaloo'. Having taken time to consider his options, Southgate recalled record signing Afonso Alves and handed a first Premier League start to Marvin Emnes, while Andrew Taylor and Mohamed Shawky were also included.

Catastrophic

Meanwhile, Shearer restored Michael Owen to the starting line-up as one of five changes, with Geordie defender Steven Taylor, Kevin Nolan, Danny Guthrie and Jonas Gutierrez also getting the nod, while Damien Duff continued at left-back. There was a seat on the bench for Martins as he continued to struggle with a groin injury, along with Fabricio Coloccini and Lovenkrands, but the injured Alan Smith and the suspended Joey Barton were missing. The match exploded into life and it was Boro who opened the scoring in the third minute when Beye - in a catastrophic moment of misfortune which has been a hallmark of Newcastle's campaign - deflected into his own goal following a scramble with Tuncay Sanli. Newcastle were understandably ruing their luck following a bright start, in which Guthrie had blazed over the bar, and fortune again appeared to abandon the home side as former Boro hero Mark Viduka hit the frame of the goal before Steven Taylor lashed at the rebound. Steven Taylor, though, responded in style in the ninth minute as the man who joined Newcastle's youth setup in 1995 powered a classic header past Brad Jones from a Guthrie corner to send home fans, awash with a sea of black and white flags, berserk. The Magpies, roared on by a capacity crowd, were calling the tune in a thrilling first 15 minutes, with Jonas Gutierrez and the advanced Kevin Nolan causing problems against a patched-up Boro rearguard, where Matthew Bates was