Sir Bobby Robson's 10 Greatest Moments At Newcastle

5. He Gave Us That Night In Rotterdam

Fans of other clubs, indeed fans all over the world, have probably heard the stat that Newcastle are the only side to get out of the Champions League group stage having lost their first three matches. But what never gets added to that story outside the region, is the quite miraculous night in Rotterdam when Newcastle clinched qualification. Most of the story you can surmise for yourself, opening with three defeats against Juventus, Feyenoord, and Dynamo Kiev, Newcastle then recored back to back wins in the first two return games (an Andy Griffin inspired winner against Juventus could just as easily have made this list), and they could now, somehow, progress with victory in their last game and the other result going for them. Had they waltzed up and recorded a comfortable 2-0 win then the game itself would have gotten lost in the bigger story, but this is Newcastle United we're talking about, there was always going to be drama. Returning from a three match ban, Craig Bellamy had given Newcastle the lead, followed on by Hugo Viana putting them two ahead, but be it through a loss of nerve or concentration, by the 70th minute they'd let their opponents recover twice to bring the score to 2-2. The most ridiculous optimism had turned to reluctant belief, but was now once again abject resignation. The remaining 20 minutes saw only one team really look like scoring, and it wasn't the one in black and white. With the clock just about ticking over into 90, something happened that is still etched in the memory of every Newcastle fan old enough to have stayed up to watch it. Kieron Dyer broke through, saw his shot tamely saved by the goalkeeper, and then time stood still. The ball delicately rolled just a few yards away from the post, and Craig Bellamy, leg muscles audibly creaking as he scampered to reach it first, hit the most hopeful of shots from the most unflattering of angles towards a goalkeeper still scrambling on his back like a flamingo in an oil spill. A deflection off a knee later, and the roar on Tyneside was drowned out only by the noise coming from the away end of De Kuip in Rotterdam. On the touchline, Robson raced over to whichever players weren't diving into the stands, tapped his temple and shouted "think".