SOCCER UEFA Cup Newcastle 2, Heerenveen 1: Newcastle United fans did what they have been threatening to do for about two months and turned on their board last night.
After a chorus of "sack the board" and an even less flattering chant directed at the chairman, Freddy Shepherd, began early in the second half, the club was again bailed out by their enduring hero, Alan Shearer.
His equaliser, followed 13 minutes later by Lee Bowyer's clever winner, took some of the edge off the travelling supporters' resentment, but it is certain to resurface should Newcastle deliver more performances as listless as this.
Despite victory, the incoherent nature of the night was summed up by Bowyer's second yellow card, for deliberate handball, and the red that followed means that he will miss the return next Thursday.
Heerenveen may lack the prestige of other Dutch clubs and they finished third in their qualifying group to reach this stage - whereas Newcastle won their group - but the home side began the night having not conceded a goal here in the competition.
More significantly for Heerenveen, this was the biggest crowd ever at their newly expanded stadium.
Sold out for weeks, there was a good noise in the ground and Heerenveen set off trying to up the volume. Neat and nice, befitting their reputation, they stroked the ball around and almost had an eighth-minute lead when Daniel Hestad might have done better from a Ugur Yildirim corner.
Sadly for Newcastle that was an indication of the defensive sloppiness that would have them behind shortly.
With Hestad an effective playmaker orchestrating things from left midfield, Heerenveen moved the ball around smoothly. However, Newcastle were comfortable until Titus Bramble's aberration.
Under pressure from Arnold Bruggink as he chased a long ball, Bramble dallied when a swift clearance would have nullified the minor threat which Bruggink posed.
Instead, Bramble stalled, Bruggink nicked possession and fed Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. On the edge of the area, Huntelaar swivelled before striking a firm shot past Shay Given and in off the crossbar.
The other Newcastle players let Bramble know how they felt, and yet less than 60 seconds later Huntelaar had a free header six yards out from another Yildirim centre.
It was Newcastle's good fortune that Huntelaar's header was weak.
Going the other way Newcastle were not too dangerous. Patrick Kluivert, back in Holland, was anonymous in the first half, and the closest Newcastle came to a goal was when Shola Ameobi broke down the left and sent in a low cross which both Kluivert and Shearer failed to get to.
But that was in the 40th minute, which itself revealed Newcastle's absence of attack.
The right-back, Ireland's Stephen Carr, in fact, had probably been the visitors' best creator and his two early bursts in the second half almost led to a goal.
Yet that promise was undermined by the continuing fragility at the back with Hestad and Huntelaar again carving out a chance. Bramble came to the rescue on that occasion, and only a last-ditch block by Bowyer prevented a fierce Tomasz Rzasa shot heading towards Given's net.
It was at this point, less than 10 minutes after the interval, that the long-suffering Newcastle fans turned on their board. There were also chants for Laurent Robert, one of Souness's least favourite footballers. Sure enough, Robert was summoned to replace Ameobi. It was another mini-defeat for Souness, who distrusts Robert with a passion.
Souness therefore will have had mixed emotions when Robert initiated the equaliser. Sliding the ball to Kluivert, lurking on the edge of the Heerenveen area, Robert watched as Kluivert ferried the ball to Shearer. From around 14 yards Shearer buried a shot past Brian Vandenbussche.
HEERENVEEN: Vandenbussche, Bakkati, Hansson, Breuer, Rzasa, Vayrynen, Hestad, Huntelaar (Samaras 78), Prager (Rose 89), Bruggink (Sikora 79), Yildirim. Subs Not Used: Waterman, Haarala, Wolfgang, Jeroen Drost. Booked: Hansson. Goals: Huntelaar 24.
NEWCASTLE: Given, Carr, Andrew O'Brien, Bramble, Faye, Babayaro (Hughes 52), Bowyer, Jenas, Kluivert, Ameobi (Robert 62), Shearer (Taylor 89). Subs Not Used: Caig, N'Zogbia, Milner, Ambrose. Sent Off: Bowyer (86). Booked: Bowyer, Ameobi, Jenas. Goals: Shearer 69, Bowyer 82.
Referee: Zsolt Szabo (Hungary).
