Robson's hopes raised

The cake and the champagne were passed around the plane as it idled at Cologne Airport for the flight back to Tyneside, but there is still plenty to do if Newcastle United are to celebrate qualification for the quarter-finals of the Champions' League as well as Sir Bobby Robson's 70th birthday.

"This group is still open," the Newcastle manager said after a commanding victory over the unrecognisable remnants of last season's European Cup finalists. "One week from now we play Bayer Leverkusen again at St James' Park, while Barcelona and Inter Milan could be knocking each other out. This is a beginning, a start, and it gives us some hope."

Group A is indeed open but not by very much. Having got through the first group phase after losing their first three matches, doing it after losing two should logically prove less difficult for Newcastle, but Internazionale and Barcelona will take plenty of catching. Robson's best bet is for Barcelona to repeat Tuesday's victory over Inter at San Siro and break away.

Assuming they can beat Bayer Leverkusen at St James' – and given the Germans' wretched display on Tuesday that is not assuming much – Newcastle will join Inter on six points but they will still probably have to avoid defeat at San Siro and then become the first team in this season's Champions' League to beat Barcelona to qualify.

Aside from the reliability of their defence away from St James' Park, the other question mark over the exciting squad Robson has assembled concerns the quality of the reserve strikers to support Craig Bellamy and Alan Shearer. Shola Ameobi's displays in both the Nou Camp and the BayArena have gone a long way towards easing those doubts. At the age of 21, he has more Champions' League goals than Shearer.

Ameobi was at St James' Park on the memorable night in September 1997 when Faustino Asprilla destroyed Barcelona, for whom Robson was technical director, with a hat-trick and, after scoring twice in the opening 16 minutes in Leverkusen, it seemed he might repeat the feat.

When he first broke into the Newcastle side in their Intertoto Cup campaign during the summer of 2001, Ameobi seemed too uncoordinated, forever falling over the ball or his own feet, to make a Premiership striker. These days, an England regular at Under-21 level, he appears tougher and more ready to mix it. "I went into the game determined to make a good impression because I know every time I get the chance to play for Newcastle United I have to prove to the manager that I am good enough," he remarked.

The same might be said of Lomana LuaLua, a man of breathtaking celebrations, dazzling runs but so far not that many goals. The Congo international's strike against Leverkusen was his first for six months in which opportunities have been limited. "I know I did not do myself any favours against Barcelona and, although this was by no means by best game for Newcastle, I was determined to take my chance against Leverkusen," he said. He did and so did his team.