ON AN AFTERNOON WHEN WEST Bromwich Albion chose once more to experiment with their attacking line-up, a familiar alliance demonstrated the importance of a tried and trusted formula. Curiously, and unfairly considering the home team’s contribution, it ended up something of a canter for Newcastle United at The Hawthorns yesterday, with Michael Owen, who scored two goals, and Alan Shearer, who secured the other, leading as they have always done throughout their careers — dispassionately and clinically from the front.

West Bromwich opted to shuffle the furniture in their forward department for a ninth permutation in 11 Barclays Premiership matches, but the established fittings of Owen and Shearer complemented one another like a pair of comfy chairs once Shearer emerged as a second-half substitute.

In Owen’s previous appearance at this venue, for Liverpool in April two years ago, the England forward reaped the reward of four goals in a 6-0 victory. While that scoreline would have been inappropriate this time, he might have been in a position to repeat that feat had his first touch and sharpness been up to its normal standards.

However, it would be churlish to be critical of the player who has been absent for two weeks with his recurring hamstring problems. He remains pivotal to Newcastle’s ambitions and their efforts to rescue their season from an appalling start. Reaching the sanctuary of a mid-table position is well below expectations in the North East, but Graeme Souness, the Newcastle manager, may regard this result and timely performance, to complete a third win inside a week, as a watershed for his underachieving team.

A sloppy first touch, a lack of awareness and then Tomasz Kuszczak, the West Bromwich goalkeeper, all contrived to deny Owen in a first half in which Newcastle were more relaxed on the ball without the necessary conviction to punish their opponents. “I was awful in the first half,” Owen said. “My touch was everywhere but it started to come together in the second half a bit better.” An understatement.

Clearly Owen needed that 45 minutes to get his bearings because only 20 seconds after the interval his diagonal run and finish was perfection as he converted Charles N’Zogbia’s cross from the left, getting in front of Darren Moore and volleying into the roof of the net. It was the classic predator’s goal, almost trademark for Owen, and his second, in the 78th minute, was laced with similar instinctive qualities.

Again Moore was found wanting as Kieron Dyer, freshly on as a substitute, darted to the byline and crossed low to Owen, who cleverly turned the ball in at the near post. He had earlier been denied by Junichi Inamoto’s headed goalline clearance and Kuszczak’s dash outside the penalty area that could have merited a red card.

Like all good double acts, though, the partnership of Owen and Shearer is based on equal ability and it was not long before the more senior man muscled his way into the action. Owen turned part-creator for this one, releasing Peter Ramage on the right, and the full back’s cross was met by Shearer, who guided it past Kuszczak with the hapless Moore again second-best. Shearer needs three more goals to equal Jackie Milburn’s club record of 200.

Shearer was most likely making up for lost time. After his Carling Cup winner away to Grimsby Town in midweek, for which effort he was the recipient of a stray elbow and several stitches in his lip, he was rewarded with a start on the bench in the Black Country.

“I said, ‘Are you kidding me’ when he (Souness) told me I was on the bench after I had scored on Wednesday,” Shearer said. “I normally get three or four after that, but the manager knows best and I’m not going to argue with him. But I might have got two or three if I had started.”

Despite the reverse, West Bromwich can feel niggled with some justification. After Owen’s opener they enjoyed their best spell of the match. Robert Earnshaw fluffed Jonathan Greening’s cross from the right with the goal gaping, then the Wales player was thwarted by Shay Given from close range after Inamoto’s blistering volley had been blocked by Steven Taylor.

Earnshaw and Co should study and learn from Newcastle’s dynamic duo.