Metalist Kharkiv 0-1 Newcastle (Agg: 0-1): Ameobi spot on to send Magpies through

Posted Friday, February 22, 2013 by Goal.com

Second-half heroics from Tim Krul helped Alan Pardew's side progress to the last 16 after the hosts gifted the Magpies a second-half penalty that sealed the tie

Newcastle progressed to the last 16 of the Europa League thanks to a 1-0 win away to Metalist Kharkiv, holding out under pressure late on.

Shola Ameobi scored the vital goal for the Magpies from the penalty spot after a mix-up between Papa Gueye and Olexandr Goryainov.

The hosts were unchanged from the draw at St James' Park, while Alan Pardew made four changes to last week's line-up. Danny Simpson and Massadio Haidara came into the defence for Steven Taylor and Davide Santon, with Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa switching from right-back to centre-back and Haidara making his debut.

Elsewhere, Cheikh Tiote was ruled out with Vurnon Anita replacing him in the side, and Sylvain Marveaux came in with Jonas Gutierrez dropping to the bench.

The first real moment of danger came after 15 minutes when Moussa Sissoko embarked on a run down the right wing before cutting in, but the placed effort on his left foot lacked conviction and rolled harmlessly to Goryainov in goal.

Ameobi then managed to work enough space on the edge of the box to get a shot away, but his left-footed drive was deflected wide past a stumbling Goryainov.

Metalist had their first chance after 28 minutes, as striker Jonathan Cristaldo headed narrowly wide of Tim Krul's post, with the right flank becoming their main focus of attack. The Argentine then had a free header from a corner 10 minutes before the break, but made a mess of his attempt.

With five minutes left of the first half, Papiss Cisse managed his first sight of goal, finding himself in space to receive the ball from Ameobi, but his effort was straight at Goryainov.

Neither side dominated the first half, with referee Serge Gumienny frequently stopping play, penalising 24 fouls in the first 45 minutes.

Ten minutes into the second half, the visitors should have taken the lead. Marveaux was played in down the left side of the penalty area, but rather than square it to the unmarked Ameobi or Cisse, the Frenchman crashed an effort over the bar, much to his team-mates' disapproval.

And in the 64th minute, Newcastle finally made the breakthrough with a gift of a penalty after a mix-up between Papa Gueye and Goryainov. The defender over-hit a back pass and Sissoko was felled by the goalkeeper when attempting to latch on to it.

Ameobi stepped up and swept the ball to the keeper's right, sending him the wrong way and leaving Metalist needing two goals to progress.

Five minutes later, Krul made a vital stop as substitute Willian found himself through on goal within seconds of coming on, but his attempted dink was blocked by the keeper.

The Dutchman was called upon again in the 77th minute, making three stops in a matter of seconds. Cristaldo was through, but his shot was straight at the keeper. From the rebound Cristaldo was on hand again to turn a wayward shot goalwards, with Krul alert.

With five minutes to go, Willian's header forced another great save from Krul, keeping the ball out with the help of his post. So, despite the danger, Newcastle held on to earn progress through to the last-16 of the competition.