Newcastle's loyal band of long-suffering supporters rightly applauded their team's progress to Wembley yesterday afternoon, but it was the referee who gave them the biggest hand. Tottenham's sense of injustice at being denied a blatant penalty for handball early in the second half was compounded deep into extra time when Paul Durkin did award Newcastle a spot-kick for an identical offence.
Alan Shearer converted that and added a second goal with a cracking strike to put his team into their second successive FA Cup final, where they have the chance to atone for last season's pallid defeat to Arsenal and so provide tangible proof of the revival under Ruud Gullit.
Evidence of Tottenham's awakening under George Graham is thus restricted to winning the League Cup and a place in Europe. But the outcome of this tight, tense and ultimately frenetic tie hinged on an incident that will once again open the debate about employing technology to spot offences missed by the referee and linesmen.
As Andy Sinton floated in a free-kick from the right, the Newcastle defender Nikos Dabizas quite clearly pushed the ball away with his outstretched hand like a goalkeeper tipping a shot over the bar. But though Spurs players and supporters immediately appealed for a penalty, the men in black saw no offence.
Plenty was taken by angry Tottenham players, though, who surrounded Durkin in disbelief. His intransigence was made worse three minutes into the second period of extra time when the previously outstanding Sol Campbell pushed away Duncan Ferguson's chip with his hand and Durkin, rightly this time, pointed to the spot.
Two semi-finals marred by awful refereeing decisions, but at least this game produced a victor. It took a while, however, to provide any thrills. Tottenham found their early rhythm and went close to scoring after just two minutes when Darren Anderton's 30-yard shot produced a great save from Shay Given.
However, that first chance remained Spurs' best of the first half as they increasingly squandered possession and saw their normal purveyor of magic, David Ginola, tenaciously policed out of the game by Robert Lee and the young right-back Andy Griffin.
Even when the Frenchman did launch a run, it invariably began from positions too deep to pose a threat. Newcastle picked up their own rhythm as the half progressed but had to wait until the 27th minute to give Ian Walker in the Spurs goal his first major fright, when Nolberto Solano fired in a shot just wide from 30 yards.
Their main problem was a lack of invention to go with their growing domination, and their cause was not helped on 33 minutes when the central defender Steve Howey was stretchered off with a leg injury. He will not play in the final. Spurs lost Anderton early in the second half and continued to struggle to create chances.
Newcastle's growing ascendancy bore plenty of fruit. Shearer went close three times and after the ineffective Ginola was withdrawn, Griffin became an increasing threat down the right. And when Gullit brought on Duncan Ferguson for his first game since December 28th, Newcastle's attack became even more imaginative.
As extra time tested tiring legs, the game began to open out, speeding from one end to the other. In the first period Walker produced another fine save to deny the giant Scot, Griffin went close and Dieter Hamann fired just wide. For Spurs, Steffen Iversen went close and when Shay Given spilled a Les Ferdinand effort he was grateful to see Griffin clear the rebound.
The second period began with a crucial save by Given to deny Allan Nielsen. Then, after Shearer's penalty, Walker saved brilliantly from Griffin and at the other end Armstrong mis-hit a close-range shot. But the England captain sealed matters two minutes from time when Silvio Maric teed him up for a shot from the left edge of the area, which crashed in from the underside of the bar.
It was "lucky Arsenal" when Graham ruled at Highbury, but on this evidence his good fortune at Spurs was used up with the late winner in the League Cup final. As for Gullit, he was the first foreign manager to lift the FA Cup when Chelsea won it two seasons ago. Now he is one game away from winning Newcastle's first trophy for 44 years, with his team already all but qualified for the UEFA Cup.
After losing that title lead, then Kevin Keegan, after enduring the dead hand of Dalglish and directors' insults, a new ray of hope can be seen over St James' Park.
NEWCASTLE UNITED: Given, Griffin, Hamann, Solano (Ferguson 75), Shearer, Lee, Barton, Ketsbaia (Maric 105), Speed, Howey (Hughes 36), Dabizas. Subs Not Used: Harper, Saha. Booked: Griffin, Maric. Goals: Shearer 109 pen, 118.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Walker, Carr, Freund, Anderton (Sinton 50), Ferdinand, Armstrong, Ginola (Iversen 75), Taricco, Campbell, Sherwood, Young, Sinton (Nielsen 83). Subs Not Used: Baardsen, King. Booked: Taricco, Sinton, Campbell, Young.
Referee: P Durkin (Portland).
