I look back and think 'wow'... to have played in a team like that

AS NEWCASTLE United faced Bayer Leverkusen in Germany last night, it was difficult not to hark back towards memories of their previous Champions League visit to the BayArena back in 2003.

- By SEAN McCORMICK Football writer

February 18 that year marked Sir Bobby Robson's 70th birthday, and the Magpies manager was desperate to mark it with the three points that would kickstart Newcastle's second group stage campaign.

Having recovered from losing their first three matches in the first group stage to qualify in second place in a group that contained Juventus, Feyenoord and Dynamo Kyiv, United had lost to both Inter Milan and Barcelona in the first two games of their second group stage campaign and knew they had to beat Leverkusen to breathe fresh life into their campaign.

The problem they faced was captain Alan Shearer was suspended and Craig Bellamy was injured, meaning their first-choice strike pairing were unavailable for selection.

It meant Robson had to turn to youngsters Shola Ameobi and Lomana LuaLua, both of whom had been desperate for an opportunity to impress, and they repaid his faith.

It was LuaLua’s cross that was met brilliantly by Ameobi for the opening goal, before the latter scored again just minutes later to fire Newcastle into a 2-0 lead.

Leverkusen, who had reached the Champions League final in the previous season, hit back with a goal from Franca, but the Magpies quickly restored their two-goal advantage when Laurent Robert's cross was volleyed home by LuaLua.

Newcastle were 3-1 up at halftime, and that was how the scoreline remained. Robson had the perfect birthday present and their young mercurial forwards had taken their opportunity to impress.