Watford 2 Newcastle United 2 (aet; Newcastle win 5-4 on pens): Roeder has last laugh on Vicarage Road return

Glenn Roeder's standing as manager of a beleaguered Newcastle team rose, fell and rose again here last night as his men reached the last eight of the Carling Cup on penalties. It was Newcastle's first visit to Vicarage Road since their FA Cup third-round third replay in 1989, when Watford won 1-0 through an extra-time own goal scored by the visiting captain - one Glenn Roeder.

The former Watford player and manager eventually enjoyed a more profitable experience upon his return, but his men made him sweat as they threw away an early lead provided by Antoine Sibierski and needed an equaliser from Scott Parker two minutes from the end of extra time to earn the right to settle the issue on penalties. Steve Harper's smart save low to his left from a powerful drive by the Watford full-back Jordan Stewart was enough to earn the visitors a place in the last eight after James Milner and Ashley Young had missed.

Roeder, whose job looked under pressure after the weekend's home defeat by Sheffield United, which dropped Newcastle to second from bottom of the Premiership, dismissed the idea that he was beginning to feel like a condemned man after Watford had taken the lead 12 minutes from the end of extra time when the centre-half Danny Shittu headed home Young's free-kick.

"Not at all," he said. "That didn't even cross my mind because the final whistle hadn't gone. It only takes a second to score a goal, as people have said. Obviously it was running close to the wire but in the end we got what we deserved. The last thing I asked for before the players went out was bravery, and they showed that tonight.'

Shittu's goal prompted Watford's fans to voice their own ironic tribute to Newcastle's unpopular chairman: "One Freddy Shepherd, there's only one Freddy Shepherd..." Next came the inevitable: "Roeder, Roeder, what's the score?"

Well, very soon it was 2-2 as the Newcastle captain, put clear by the substitute Nobby Solano, offered his strikers a lesson in finishing as he dinked the ball over the oncoming keeper Richard Lee with two minutes remaining.

The Watford manager, Adrian Boothroyd, who had seen his team earn their first Premiership win of the season three days earlier, appeared philosophical, although he admitted that seeing his side concede the second goal had been even more painful to witness than Stewart's final failure.

"When you are 2-1 up with five minutes to go you expect it to be closed down," he said. "I didn't think we played particularly well tonight, but the fact that we still came from behind and took the lead says a lot about our spirit. But we gave the ball back to them tonight, and you can't do that."

Newcastle's spirits, low enough after Saturday's defeat, dipped still further shortly before the kick-off when third choice goalkeeper Tim Krul, who distinguished himself in last week's Uefa Cup victory at Palermo, was carried off on a stretcher after suffering a cartilage injury during warm-up.

But within two minutes they fashioned a goal which lifted the mood. Emre's free-kick carried to the shining dome of Sibierski, who nodded it over the flailing grasp of Lee, still in the team following the knee injury suffered by Ben Foster.

That mood altered after 69 minutes when Damien Francis forced home a Young free-kick to take the game into extra time. But Newcastle recovered to maintain a perplexing record: despite their miserable Premiership form, they have now played 10 Uefa Cup and Carling Cup games without defeat. Sort that one out, Mr Roeder...

Watford (4-4-2): Lee; Doyley, DeMerit, Shittu, Stewart; Young, Francis, Spring, Bouazza; Priskin (Bangura, 73), Henderson. Substitutes not used: Chamberlain (gk), Mackay, Powell, McNamee.

Newcastle United (4-4-2): Harper; Carr, Ramage, Taylor, Babayaro; Milner, Parker, Emre, Duff; Rossi (Solano, 99), Sibierski (N'Zogbia, 115). Substitutes not used: Srnicek (gk), Luque, Huntington.

Referee: L Mason (Lancashire).