IN ANOTHER SPORT, STUART PEARCE would have pressed for a rematch. “If I put a team out now to play the game again, my players would have the belief and confidence,” the Manchester City manager said. “It would be like in boxing, where we could say ‘is that your best shot?’ ” It was the sort of verbal horseplay that made Ali famous; Comical Ali, rather than Muhammad.

There was some appeal in Pearce’s fantasy, however. Football has received such a hostile press recently, why not judge it differently? If this had been rugby, St James’ Park could have marvelled at the backward passes and the ball soaring above the goalposts. If tennis, the avoidance of the net would have been exemplary.

Graeme Souness would not accept Pearce’s offer to replay the fixture. His side will improve when Emre Belözoglu, Kieron Dyer, Nolberto Solano and Albert Luque embrace full fitness (the first two may return against Portsmouth next weekend), but points are more vital than plaudits and two scrappy triumphs in succession have eased the pressure on the manager.

It was in early March that Newcastle last celebrated consecutive wins. It has been a desperate six months, but in Alan Shearer’s partnership with Michael Owen there are grounds for expectations to rise along with their league position. Owen scored his second goal after his £16.5 million transfer from Real Madrid and while he should have left with the match-ball, sharpness is returning to his game. “I was very pleased with the first half,” Souness said, “when we had three or four one-on-ones, which we hadn’t had prior to Michael arriving.

While the England striker prodded one superb chance straight at David James and thrashed another shot wide, his instincts proved sound in the eighteenth minute when Shearer and Sylvain Distin leapt for the same ball, Lee Bowyer shaped a cute through-pass and Owen finished with accuracy. Lacking Andrew Cole and Robbie Fowler through injury, City could not compete and spurned their opportunity, particularly after Shay Given had repelled an early point-blank effort from Antoine Sibierski. “We looked at their team-sheet, saw Shearer and Owen and over-respected them,” Pearce said. “We didn’t handle ourselves properly and paid the price.”

Newcastle were industrious, but their inability to see out the game gnawed at their composure, while City’s growing influence was merely reflected in a series of free headers, all of which were wasted. As an occasion, it lacked quality, vibrancy and atmosphere, but there were still cheers at the end. Funny old game, boxing.