Newcastle United had little difficulty negotiating Belgium's Sporting Lokeren in their Intertoto quarter-final first leg tie, winning 4-0 to leave them well poised for a place in the semis. Northern Ireland's Wayne Quinn opened the scoring when he grabbed his first goal for The Magpies, while Shola Ameobi added a further two. Second half substitute Lomano Lua Lua sealed the win with a stunning overhead kick in the 86th minute to give Bobby Robson's men a comfortable win despite the absence of established first-team regulars such as Alan Shearer, Carl Cort, Kieron Dyer and Robert Lee.
New £6million signing Craig Bellamy impressed on his competitive debut, setting up the first two goals with his clever penetrating runs down the flanks. The former Coventry striker pulled the ball back from the right to Quinn who netted from inside the box after 13 minutes. He then broke free down the left ten minutes later and squared for Ameobi who finished at the second attempt from close range. The 19-year-old robbed defender Alen Mrzlecki before sliding the ball beyond goalkeeper Daniel Zitka.
Lokeren improved after the break but Newcastle had the final word when Lua Lua finished the scoring having replaced two-goal Ameobi in the 70th minute.
Filed by Shane Murray
