Newcastle won 2-0 at Plymouth to clinch the Championship title and seal the Pilgrims' relegation.
Magpies secure Championship crown with comfortable away win
Newcastle claimed a 2-0 win at Plymouth to clinch the Championship title and seal the Pilgrims' relegation to League One.
The hosts had to avoid a third straight defeat to keep alive their survival hopes and made the better first-half chances.
But Andy Carroll headed Newcastle into a 20th-minute lead with his 18th goal of the season before Wayne Routledge struck eight minutes later.
Alan Judge struck the crossbar midway through the second half but Plymouth's fate was inevitable as their six-year stay in the Championship came to an end.
The travelling fans streamed onto the pitch at the final whistle to celebrate Newcastle's first piece of silverware since winning the same title under Kevin Keegan in 1992/93.
Bright Plymouth start
Despite losing their last two matches, Plymouth started brightly and nearly went ahead with just 53 seconds on the clock.
Damien Johnson, making his 250th league start, got in round the back and picked out Jamie Mackie, whose drilled effort was beaten away by Steve Harper.
Then, from the resulting corner, Bondz N'Gala sent a header over the bar when it looked easier to hit the target.
Newcastle posed hardly any threat in the opening exchanges and had to wait until the 19th minute for their first chance, with Carroll's attempted curler from just inside the area floating harmlessly over.
The striker found his range shortly after, though, rising highest to direct Joey Barton's corner inside the near post, although left-back Onismor Bhasera would have cleared had he not switched off and wandered off the post when the corner came in.
The goal sapped Plymouth of their enthusiasm and the visitors doubled their lead shortly after.
Routledge goal
Barton exchanged passes with Danny Guthrie before producing a defence-splitting pass to Routledge and the winger coolly rounded keeper David Stockdale to slot into an empty net.
Mackie worked Harper again as Plymouth attempted to rally, with Bradley Wright-Phillips and Alan Judge also going close with drives that fizzed just past the goal.
Judge thumped a 30-yard effort against the bar after the break as Newcastle took their foot of the gas, with Chris Hughton taking the opportunity to give January signing Leon Best a rare opportunity from the bench.
Plymouth brought on teenage striker Joe Mason in a last-ditch attempt to pep up their attack but, with both sets of fans accepting their respective fates, the standard of play began to deteriorate.
Best almost capped the victory with his first Newcastle goal, turning N'Gala to thump a 20-yard effort against the underside of the bar, before Stockdale produced a smart save to keep out Barton's close-range effort.
And Jose Enrique denied Plymouth a late consolation when he cleared Mason's header off the line.
