21 mins Koren's shot was deflected in off Steven Taylor 0-1

Full time: Newcastle 1 Lillestrøm 1

50 mins James Milner set up Albert Luque to net with a left-footed shot at the Gallowgate End 1-1

Glenn Roeder said:

"We had parts where we were quite rusty in our play - some of the passing that was cut out today or a lack of quality in our passing - which we will eradicate in a few weeks' time.

"'This game will do us the world of good. We know they have got the away goal, but we are all grown-up, we know the rules of European football and we know what we are going to have to do.

On Luque:

"It was a very good goal, clever play and calmly slotted away.

"I hope the goal has helped him and I hope he grows in confidence in the coming weeks.

"He'll be up for selection again next week - we needed that goal and it hasn't done him any harm either.

"It was asking a lot of Albert and James to gel quickly when they've only been together for a short period of time and had a few practice matches against our Under 19s. They did as well as they could on the day.

"It's huge, it's very, very important. Finance is important to the club, but as far as the players are concerned, it's the honour of representing the club in the UEFA Cup by qualifying which is important.

'No, we are not the favourites - but that's what we wanted. We have now a great position.

'It's a great result. I'm really proud of my players, especially in the first half.

'They were fantastic. We confused and frustrated the Newcastle players, especially in midfield.

'They had not much going forward and we threatened them with Michael Mifsud, Robert Koren, Bjorn Helge Rise and Olivier Occean, and we totallly deserved to be 1-0 up in the game.

'They have class players. We are not in their league, they have so much class. They have got really, really good players and they will make it extremely difficult.

'But hopefully, we will have a good home crowd and we will play the same way.

'We have got the away goal - that's vital - and we will see what happens.'

Wearing the number 7 shirt for the first time, Albert Luque grabbed his first competitive home goal to keep our European hopes afloat, as the Norwegians threatened to dent our UEFA dreams.

Playing under cloudless blue skies, United looked second best to the visitors from the first whistle, despite Lillestrøm being forced into a substitution in the opening moments - Winsnes taking a stray boot in the face from N'Zogbia and departing from the field on a stretcher.

Shay Given had already had his hands warmed and Babayaro had cleared a goalbound effort before lively Lillestrøm deservedly went ahead on 21 minutes.

Robert Koren's shot was deflected unwittingly off Steven Taylor, looping over the helpless Given and into the Gallowgate net.

With our set pieces proving to be no threat at all, it look another quarter of an hour before the home fans had anything to cheer - Luque's mazy dribble taking him into the box, only for a defender to make a blocking tackle as the Spaniard delayed his shot.

A floated Emre free kick was then tipped away by Lillestrøm 'keeper Muller, but that wasn't enough to silence the mild booing that greeted the half time whistle.

Things were a tad brighter in the second half, with more bite and friction noticeable in the tackle and one or two flare-ups, mostly involving visiting striker Occean.

Our equaliser wasn't long in coming and Roeder was doubtless pleased that his makeshift front pair combined for the goal; James Milner giving the ball to Luque, who jinked past Andresen and swept home a left foot effort beyond the 'keeper, seemingly in slow motion.

The goal brought the crowd and the match to life and Luque nearly got a second minutes later but the ball stuck under his feet and the chance went begging.

After that the Magpies dominated proceedings, but rarely looked like scoring again, despite the introduction of Shola Ameobi for the tiring Milner.

Luque lasted 81 minutes before being withdrawn to good applause with cramp. 

His replacement, Alan O'Brien, almost snatched it with the last kick of the game but screwed the ball wide from eight yards. Had that gone in though, the victory would have been undeserved.

In many ways a predictable afternoon then, as we struggled against a side with greater match fitness, organisation and confidence. 

It was always going to be a tough task to hit the ground running in a competitive game of this nature. And regardless of whether new faces arrive, matters should improve significantly before an opening Premiership fixture that's still over a month away. 

At the moment however, it's the task of getting more from his players in the next seven days that is Roeder's chief concern.  

Not making it into the UEFA Cup would be a major embarrassment, given recent quotes from the club about attracting new players in on the back of a European campaign.

On the positive side, newly-appointed captain Scott Parker seemed to be in the groove right away, while the industrious James Milner was probably the pick of the bunch.

Less pleasing though were the displays of Emre, Celestine Babayaro and Nolberto Solano - the former drifting in and out of the game and the latter two noticeably ring rusty.

There did look to be an opportunity for Charles N'Zogbia to threaten down the left, but the young Frenchman struggled with an end product to his running and was often crowded out. 

Perhaps that route could be exploited in the second leg, which we go into having conceded an away goal and with extra time a possibility. 

Let's also hope that we spend some time practicing penalties - as we may well end up getting another chance to end the spot kick hoodoo that has dogged us since Pecsi Dozsa in 1970.  

Biffa

Reports