Obafemi Martins was the only person doing somersaults inside St James’ Park last night. The Newcastle United striker’s fourteenth goal of his first season in English football was enough to cement his club’s place in the final 16 of the Uefa Cup, but his traditional gymnastic celebration did not reflect an otherwise turgid evening. This was not Europe at its most scintillating.

Newcastle will face AZ Alkmaar in the next round. With the second leg away from home, the pace of their approach to the competition will surely accelerate. The Dutch club, who were victors over Fenerbahçe by virtue of away goals, are coached by Louis van Gaal, whose Barcelona side broke Geordie hearts a decade ago.

Alkmaar, who reached the semi-finals of the Uefa Cup two years ago, finished top of their qualifying group, beating Seville, the holders, in the process and they will surely provide a sterner challenge than anything Glenn Roeder’s players have confronted to date.

They could do with the motivation; Titus Bramble, the centre half, was Newcastle’s most accomplished player against SV Zulte Waregem, a collection of part-timers.

Roeder’s response was muted. “Job done,” he said, “but I’m disappointed we didn’t handle their formation and tactics better. We were too slow and far too easy to defend against. It’s all about us raising our game, because I expect our standards to be higher. We need to play better more often and to be a Newcastle player, you need to be a brave player.”

A first clean sheet in 18 games was cause for pleasure, although another statistic that prompted interest was the 30,083 attendance that, at times, left the stadium echoing. Given that the tie was almost over before it began, the presence of so many diehards was admirable, although most will have attended in expectation of a rush of goals that never materialised.

In a patchy atmosphere reminiscent of a testimonial match, waning concentration was Newcastle’s greatest enemy and, in an otherwise moribund first half, Bramble and Steven Taylor were both required to demonstrate alertness, with a clearing header and saving tackle, respectively. “Titus was superb in the away leg and his concentration was generally good tonight,” Roeder said.

Newcastle had chances, although with the visiting side shielding their back four, pace and finesse were largely unavailable. In the fourth minute, Stijn Meert had cleared Taylor’s headed effort from his own line, James Milner’s shot rose above the bar and, from 25 yards, Kieron Dyer brought a solid save from Sammy Bossut, the Waregem goalkeeper. The overall effect was mostly tedious.

Improvements were slow to materialise. Of the two goalkeepers, Steve Harper had the least scope for relaxation, diving at full stretch to prod away a venomous 30-yard strike from Wouter Vandendriessche while, at the other end, a misplaced header from Martins was the meagre reward.

Newcastle’s goal arrived in the 65th minute, moments after the disappointing Albert Luque had flounced off after being substituted. For once they summoned a semblance of precision to complement their endeavour. A precise through-ball from Damien Duff found Martins averting the offside trap and, as Bossut tore from the safety of his six-yard box, the Nigeria international lifted the ball above his flailing dive.

“Oba wasn’t having the best of games, but that was a fantastic finish,” Roeder said.

Newcastle United (4-4-2): S Harper — N Solano, S Taylor, T Bramble, C Babayaro (sub: P Huntington, 46min) — J Milner, K Dyer, N Butt (sub: M Pattison, 65), D Duff — O Martins, A Luque (sub: A Carroll, 65). Substitutes not used: P Srnicek, A O’Brien, D Edgar, K LuaLua.

SV Zulte Waregem (4-3-3): S Bossut — S Minne (sub: L Reina, 76), D Karel, F Dindeleux, B Buysse — L van Steenbrugghe, L van Nieuwenhuyze, S S Meert — S Siani (sub: T Matthys, 56), J Vandemarliere, W Vandendriessche (sub: T Sergeant, 56). Substitutes not used: P Merlier, M Verschuere. Booked: Reina.

Referee: N Ivanov (Russia).