Full time: Olympiakos 1 Newcastle 3

Manager Graeme Souness said:

"I'm extremely proud of them.

"We had to be very disciplined. In the second half, maybe we were nervous and not as aggressive as we normally would have been.

"But we knew we could find ourselves down to ten or even nine men. That's why the second half didn't excite me in the way I thought it would. That's why we didn't go after them in such an aggressive manner and kill the tie off.

"Sendings off can have an influence on both teams. Our great concern was we felt, with the pressure from the crowd, there was a chance we might get a red card."

"I've been in professional football for 37 years and nothing is over until it's over. There's still a job to do in the second leg. But they have not lost a game here so you've got to be happy with what we've achieved.

"We were disciplined, we had to be. We knew it would be an atmosphere somewhat different to what we're used to but they all handled it well.

"We have put ourselves in a very strong position for the second leg - but that's all. Nothing has been decided here."

About the penalties:

"I've only seen the first one from one angle. But it was definitely a penalty and, if he was the last man, he had to go. For the second one, the two yellow cards were correct.

"Even before the sending offs, I was pleased with the way things were going. We were comfortable and we were confident of getting a result. Who can say what would have happened if it had stayed 11 against 11?"

Olympiakos boss Dusan Bajevic said:

"I respect my colleague's comment that it is not over until it is over - but I am not sure whether he really believes it.

"But we are not going to England just for a trip, we have the prestige and the history of the club at stake and we will do the best we can in the return game."

Former Newcastle midfielder George Giorgiadis commented:

"The red card for Georgatos and the Newcastle penalty were really bad decisions and it was a terrible blow for us. But before that I thought Olympiakos were the better team. 

"Newcastle were not so good and they could not keep the ball, and I believe if it had been 11 against 11 then we would have won. And while you never know in football, it is going to be very difficult for us to score three goals in Newcastle."

There may have been some dissention in the ranks at the last UEFA away game, but as Tony Blair might have said tonight the fans were firmly on message as the team conjured up another memorable night on foreign soil.

Around 500 Newcastle followers made the trip to Piraeus for our 50th European away match and despite being outnumbered over sixty to one by home fans, were the ones singing and celebrating as Shearer & Co. doused the passions of the locals.

However despite the usual doom mongering in the press (which dissuaded some fans from going), the atmosphere in the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium was more fervent than hostile, with an impressive array of banners and flares and a vocal accompaniment that at times verged on the ear-splitting.

Yes, there may have been a lot of Hellenic hand gestures and cursing directed at us - most notably when possibly misguided chants of "Panathinaikos" rang out from the away end -  but as it had been outside the stadium, there was a tangible lack of fear about the whole episode.

Pre-match talk had been of avoiding defeat and grabbing away goals, but any logic of that nature was blown away by the early goal and dismissal. 

Although the Greeks got back in it with their own spot kick, we continued to be in the ascendancy as the home side were left reeling and our advances were stopped by fair means and foul. One legitimate block saw Shearer's goalbound effort rebuffed, but another illegal one gave Robert a perfect platform on which to exhibit his dead ball prowess. 

To his and our delight, he didn't disappoint.

And to further add to the general feeling of incredulity at the way things were turning out, to see a second Olympiakos player depart before the interval was nothing short of astonishing - especially as it wasn't immediately obvious what exactly had gone on to pre-empt the red card for Kostoulas.

Thankfully those watching the match back in Blighty were quickly able to enlighten us that there had a been a case of mistaken identity. And although Olympiakos were now down to nine men, it may as well have been eight, given the inability or unwillingness of the much-vaunted Rivaldo to raise himself into threatening us in the slightest.

After the sensational first 45, the second period was always going to be less dramatic and so it proved, with United dealing with what threat the Greeks could muster for 25 minutes and then finally silencing the red and white-clad masses with a killer third goal.

Further goals could have followed to make our position more impregnable for the second leg, but having the luxury of being able to withdraw Robert and Dyer before the end and finishing the game with 11 men were both big plusses for United.

Not to qualify for the quarter finals from this position would be eccentric even by our own standards, but as Souness is preaching and apparently getting his message home, a professional attitude on the field is starting to pay rich dividends.

Those who seek to undermine us will rightly point out that we've enjoyed good fortune so far in 2005 and come up against average teams or good ones who've taken their eye off the ball for a variety of reasons.

But to take that stance is to ignore what seems to be a genuine change in attitude among the players. Whether it's the arrival of Boumsong from over the border to steady the defence, the packing off of Bellamy to Clydeside or the appearance of McDermott to do whatever it is he does, we're unsure - and at the moment we're not particularly bothered.

As we've said on countless other occasions, we've flopped so often against beatable opposition in the past that occasions such as this one in Piraeus have to be enjoyed, savoured, acclaimed, celebrated, toasted, whatever - but only as a means to an end, a staging post on the road to success.

As a club we're past masters at celebrating nothing - and ultimately having nothing to celebrate. 

But while one much-loved old hero hangs up his robes down at Manchester City, another former Liverpool player is having a decent go at pulling off the greatest prize of all round these parts, bringing a trophy back to Tyneside. Let's just hope the luck and the form holds.   

Biffa

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