Viduka and Owen Bring End to Drought

There is no better time than Easter for a messiah to achieve the miraculous, and Kevin Keegan duly supervised his first win in 10 attempts in the league since returning to Newcastle.

The points will come in extremely useful and should stop the immediate speculation surrounding Keegan's job, yet this was far from the thrill-fest Newcastle fans must have hoped for when their favorite son was reinstalled and it is debatable whether beating a team as limp as Fulham actually counts as a miracle in any case. It might have to be referred to a small claims tribunal, who would likely downgrade it to a mild surprise. With a visit to Tottenham next weekend it could be a while before Keegan is walking on water, though confidence may not have survived a bad result here and it may prove some sort of turning point.

Keegan was so impressed with the second-half display that earned a point at Birmingham on Monday he named an unchanged team, in a typically positive 4-3-3 formation that included all three of his main strikers at the front. He argues it is actually one man on his own up front and two other strikers in close support, and presumably Mark Viduka is supposed to be the notional front man, though every time Newcastle had the ball the front three looked pretty much interchangeable.

No one was complaining, however, for within six minutes Viduka had his first goal since December and Newcastle a precious lead. The last time they had one of those they promptly shipped four goals at Aston Villa but no matter, when you have not won a game for three months an early goal is definitely to be celebrated. It was all so easy too. Geremi took Nicky Butt's pass on the right and returned the ball to Viduka in the middle, where the striker was able to make space for himself on the edge of the penalty area before stroking a low shot into Kasey Keller's bottom right corner.

It was tempting to wonder why Newcastle have not been doing that every week, except the obvious answer would be that they haven't been playing Fulham every week. For a team supposedly fighting for survival, who have taken points from Blackburn and Everton in recent weeks, it was a dismal start. Viduka is not exactly the quickest player or tightest turner, yet Fulham's defenders stood off admiringly. Roy Hodgson had been out on the pitch chatting convivially with Keegan before kick off, and his players seemed prepared to be just as friendly and accommodating.

Midway through the first half, just after Eddie Johnson had failed to get a header on target from a rare Fulham attack, Obafemi Martins was allowed a second chance on the break when a poor touch should have surrendered possession. Even Fulham must have heard about the danger Martins poses, yet once again he was given time to get his shot in and Keller was required to make a diving save.

Newcastle could have scored more before the interval, had Danny Murphy not managed to clear Michael Owen's header off the line or had anyone been available to take advantage when Abdoulaye Faye's overhead kick ran across the face of an unguarded goal. Perhaps less forgivable was Owen's failure to convert a clear chance after Geremi's cross from the right gave him a free header in front of goal, particularly as by the end of the first half Murphy and Jimmy Bullard were beginning to get a grip of midfield and ask questions of the Newcastle defence. Unfortunately Fulham's only clear shooting chance fell to Bullard as well, and he put it closer to the corner flag than the target.

Bullard openened the second half with a shot that flew too high, just for good measure, as Newcastle set about defending their slender lead by falling back behind the halfway line. This seemed a risky strategy, since Newcastle do not have the sort of defence to allow them to play out games in their own half, but on the other hand Fulham did not possess the sort of attack to put them properly to the test.

Murphy departed 20 minutes from the end and Bullard gradually ran out of steam. So did everyone else. Martins had a goal disallowed for offside when Keller had done well to save from the already offside Viduka, and Owen did his best to carve himself a shooting chance, only to be foiled by a well-timed last ditch intervention from Paul Stalteri.

Just when it appeared the game was going to peter out without further event, Geremi sent a free-kick into the penalty area and Owen met it with his head to beat Keller from close range. With only seven minutes remaining Newcastle now had an unloseable two-goal lead. Heaven. 'There's only one Kevin Keegan,' the most easily pleased supporters in the world chanted loyally. 'We're walking in a Keegan wonderland.'

Walking is about right.

Man of the match: Jimmy Bullard

Seemed to be the only Fulham player interested half the time, and was the only visitor who came anywhere near scoring. Perhaps not a vintage display, but this was the ground where he sustained the injury that threatened his career and it was good to see him running about as of old.