Darren Bent reached his personal milestone of 20 goals this season. Then no sooner had Newcastle taken stock of their leveller Charlton were back in front again.
From Newcastle's point of view it went from the sublime to the ridiculous with another Addicks twist on the scoresheet. And with a little bit more composure in front of goal from Marcus Bent and Jerome Thomas the scoreline might have been even larger, but three was more than enough for the hosts.
Charlton starting line-up: One change as Marcus Bent returned for the injured Shaun Bartlett.
Alan Curbishley: "I'm really pleased with our performance. We scored first, then Scotty Parker's shot just flew in, but we managed to get ourselves back in the lead straight away. We could have scored a few more in the second half. We needed the third to kill the game off, but I didn't think it was going to come. This was a big week for us, but we haven't quite managed to pull it off with the draw against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.
"The way we were playing before Christmas, 40 points was a long way away. I had to make some big decisions and I brought in the likes of Matt Holland and Bryan Hughes, who were both desperate for their chances. I'm glad it's worked out. Darren Bent's scored 20 goals for us now - and he's played with a bit of an (ankle) injury. There were a couple of through-balls for him, which a month ago he would have got on the end of. Marcus Bent hadn't played for three weeks and had only trained for four days before today - I thought he was exceptional. I hope someone from the England set-up was here watching because Luke Young showed everyone today why he's in contention for a place in the squad."
Glenn Roeder (NUFC): "Charlton's defence cleared its lines time and time and time again. The goal they conceded was a goal their defence could do nothing about."
Source: Official sites