Nigerian forward Victor Anichebe's double strike and Phil Neville's first goal for more than four years completed an afternoon of abject misery for Newcastle United as they lost 3-0 to Everton at Goodison Park this afternoon.
Glenn Roeder's team saw their own Nigerian centre-forward, the in-form Obafemi Martins, miss a late first half penalty with an embarrassingly wayward effort.
That miss proved costly as two goals in four minutes, either side of the hour mark, saw Everton extend that lead to 3-0 and end the year sitting comfortably in the Premiership's top ten.
It had taken Everton only nine minutes to open the scoring, by which time Andy Johnson had headed over, Andy van der Meyde's long-range cross-shot had been parried away by Shay Given and Anichebe had wasted a good opportunity with a poor cross from the right hand by-line.
Yet, for all their impressive, Mikel Arteta-inspired approach play, when the goal came, it was a scrappy effort.
Arteta's short corner allowed Neville to swing in a cross which Joseph Yobo headed goalwards, sparking an almighty scramble in the Newcastle area.
As visiting defenders failed to deal with the ball, Anichebe was afforded the time to get in a weak, miscued shot which seemed to travel in slow motion past Given's desperate dive.
United responded swiftly. A series of corners in quick succession tested the Everton defence, and ended with a fine passing move that saw Emre's shot deflected into the side netting off Van der Meyde.
Emre blotted his copybook shortly afterwards, booked following a scything foul on Yobo and an act of petulance in which he refused to respond when summoned by referee Dermot Gallagher, but the game really exploded into life three minutes from half-time with Emre again heavily involved.
Leon Osman brought down Kieron Dyer with a clumsy shove sparking a penalty award and two-minute melee, with Emre and Everton defender Joleon Lescott at the centre of the unpleasanteries.
After Gallagher restored order, Martins ballooned his left-footed penalty an almost implausible distance over the Everton cross-bar to the delight of the home crowd.
After the restart, a couple of promising runs down the right from James Milner signalled the winger's intent and, in the 54th minute, he created Newcastle's best chance of the game, penalties excluded.
His surging run into the area ended with a ferocious shot that Tim Howard did well to keep out with a spectacular diving save.
The danger was still not over for Everton, however, as the ball looped up invitingly for Martins and team-mate Steven Taylor who somehow managed to get in each other's way and fail to convert the loose ball into the open goal.
It would prove an extremely costly miss as, in the 58th minute, the result looked settled as Anichebe struck his second of the day. Arteta's corner was headed on by Johnson for Anichebe to first head against the bar and then convert his own rebound from inches out.
Then, in the 62nd minute, Arteta steered yet another corner to the edge of the area where Phil Neville scored his first league goal since November 2002 with an incredible slice of luck. A mishit right-foot shot looped cruelly over Given's head and into the Newcastle net.
