BARRING the vagaries of the FA Cup draw, Alan Shearer’s first playing appearance at Blundell Park will also be his last and, for that, the former England captain will be deeply grateful. Bloodied and bloody-minded, Shearer rescued Newcastle United from ignominy against Grimsby Town, but he departed the ground last night more incensed than at any time in his distinguished career.

Shearer scored his fourth goal of the season ten minutes from the end, a vicious strike powered by anger as much as adrenalin. The 35-year-old is no stranger to mistreatment at the hands of defenders (or returning it), but he objected profusely to a stern challenge from Justin Whittle that led to three stitches at half-time. Shearer would later use remarkable force to detail his anger. “I wanted to do him,” he said.

A feud developed between the two players when Shearer caught Whittle in the face with a raised arm. He immediately apologised, but the Grimsby skipper returned the favour in the 32nd minute — catching the centre forward on his upper lip — and, on this occasion, Shearer was incensed. At the final whistle, he rebuffed all requests to shake hands and swap shirts.

“I just wanted to go out there and do him, because he did me,” Shearer said. “He knows he did me and that’s the coward’s way. The referee was only five yards away and did not do anything about it. But I got my answer back by scoring that goal. It would have been easy for me to go out there and stick one on him and that’s what I wanted to do, but the best thing was to come away with a goal and a victory.”

Graeme Souness, who had confronted Mark Halsey, the referee, at the interval, shared his displeasure. “It was a nasty challenge,” the Scot said, “and there’s no doubt that it should have been a red card. Alan was entitled to be angry. It’s totally ruined his good looks.”

Souness was able to crack the smile of a winner and, secretly, he must have been glad that Shearer vented his fury so venomously. When Shearer profited from a slip by Paul Bolland in the right channel, meeting Michael Chopra’s cross with a strong shot from the corner of the 18-yard-box, Newcastle had been treading water and their early dominance was dissipating. Shearer’s second goal in 13 appearances was a crucial one and his 196th for the club, four short of Jackie Milburn’s record.

Sixty league places separated Newcastle from a combative Grimsby and defeat would have left Souness again facing speculation regarding his position. For much of the evening it was an occasion that put the grim in Grimsby, but Shearer is hewn from the footballing equivalent of granite. He was only playing because Shola Ameobi had succumbed to a hamstring strain — “second thoughts” also persuaded Souness to omit Kieron Dyer .

Grimsby worked manfully, but not to the extent that Shay Given was called upon to make a decisive save. At the other end, Charles N’Zogbia, the teenage winger, collected an unusually adept through-pass from Amdy Faye before clipping the outside of the left post. Celestine Babayaro, newly recovered from injury, stung Steve Mildenhall’s palms from long range, as did Chopra.

Russell Slade, the Grimsby manager, praised his team’s “work ethic and application”. Having beaten Tottenham Hotspur in the previous round, he would, he said, be “massively disappointed”, if the confrontation between Shearer and Whittle overshadowed his club’s achievement. “If anything did go on, it’s out of character for my centre half.”

GRIMSBY TOWN (4-4-2): S Mildenhall — J McDermott, J Whittle, R Jones (sub: M Gritton, 71min), T Newey — C Andrew (sub: A Parkinson, 71), P Bolland, J-P Kamudimba Kalala, G Cohen — M Reddy, G Jones. Substitutes not used: S Ramsden, T Barwick, C Toner.

NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-4-2): S Given — P Ramage, S Taylor, T Bramble, C Babayaro — N Solano (sub: L Clark, 72), A Faye (sub: M Brittain, 72), S Parker, C N’Zogbia — A Shearer, M Chopra. Substitutes not used: R Elliott, J-A Boumsong, A Caig. Booked: Clark

Referee: M Halsey.