Understudies see Newcastle home
NAC Breda 0 Newcastle United 1 Newcastle win 6-0 on agg
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Laurent Robert's late goal handed Sir Bobby Robson his 100th win as the Newcastle manager to ease his side into the second round of the Uefa Cup, though the match was marred by violence in the centre of Breda involving visiting fans.
The Frenchman scored four minutes from time to settle a game that never got started. Robert's effort was his side's first shot on goal since the opening minute, and a much-changed line-up rarely threatened to repeat their 5-0 first-leg demolition of the Dutch side at St James' Park despite Lomana LuaLua hitting a post in injury time.
Robson made six changes from the first leg, choosing to rest the captain, Alan Shearer, the midfielder Gary Speed and the goalkeeper, Shay Given.
In the first minute Given's replacement, Steve Harper, had to race from his line to prevent the striker Johan Elmander reaching Marcel Koning's long ball, but Newcastle counter-attacked immediately, Hugo Viana forcing a fine save from the goalkeeper, Gabor Babos.
But United threatened only fleetingly as the lone striker, Shola Ameobi, saw too little of the ball, and the visitors' defence underwent the sterner examination in the first half.
Harper was left stranded three minutes before the interval when Koning met Nebojsa Gudelj's free-kick with a powerful header which came back off the upright.
His counterpart, the Hungarian goalkeeper Gabor Babos, had to leave the field with a broken forearm 10 minutes before halftime after a collision with a Newcastle player.
The second half was almost as uneventful as the first. Newcastle tightened up at the back but were no more adventurous in attack. Robson sent on Darren Ambrose and Steve Caldwell in place of Nolberto Solano and Titus Bramble.
Keiron Dyer almost broke the deadlock when he collected Ameobi's pass but saw his shot blocked at close range by the substitute goalkeeper, Gino Coutinho.
Robert snatched victory in the 86th minute when he ran on to Jermaine Jenas' neatly weighted pass to beat the helpless Coutinho from close range.
NAC Breda: Babos (Coutinho, 35), Penders, Gudelj, Engelaar, Collen, Slot, Koning (Vos, 69), Boussaboun (Barakat, 69), Elmander, Seedorf, Stam. Substitutes not used: Risamasu, Haemouts.
Newcastle United: Harper, Griffin, Bramble (Caldwell, 78), O'Brien, Bernard, Jenas, Dyer (LuaLua, 84), Robert, Solano (Ambrose, 78), Viana, Ameobi. Substitutes not used: Given (gk), Shearer, Speed, Hughes.
Referee: E Berntsenn (Nor).
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