Robson sees gamble fail at last hurdle

The Peru winger, back in the starting line-up as Robson put their differences aside, slotted home perfectly from the edge of the box to give Newcastle a dream start.

But as Troyes showed at their tiny home in the champagne region, what they lack in stature and experience they more than make up for with their bright, attacking football.

Even before Medhi Leroy equalised with a 35-yard drive which curled wickedly to embarrass Shay Given for the second time in three days, the visitors had their chances.

When the next one fell to Nicolas Gousse two minutes later, the gangly striker supplied a deft finish to score his sixth of the competition.

That goal reduced St James' Park to near silence, with the only sounds coming from the screams of around 50 Troyes fans who braved the long journey-north. By the time Samuel Boutal had finished, even they were being drowned out by the resounding boos from a disenchanted home crowd.

Boutal scored his first two minutes after the break when he sidefooted home after Gousse's fierce effort beat Given and hit the Newcastle keeper's post. On the hour he added a second, a convincing far-post header from Jerome Rothen's deep cross which Given was unable to gather.

Too little, too late from Robson and Newcastle after that. As Shola Ameobi gave the home support some relief with a thumping finish in the top corner, Robson was warming up three substitutes - although his decision to withdraw Solano still left them bemused and booing. The onslaught, the visitors' theatrics and time-wasting and the half chances followed in the final half-an-hour but for Newcastle there were only two more goals.

Gary Speed scored from the penalty spot in the 70th minute to make it 4-3 after Ameobi's trickery and dribbling resulted in Medhi Meniri's trip. And Aaron Hughes got the final touch on a Lomana Lua-Lua corner in the third minute of extra time.

But the fourth goal for Newcastle was not enough and so it was the French side who collected their tiny InterToto trophy in a near-empty St James' Park.