Classic match report - Wolves 3 Newcastle 2, 2003 (FA Cup third round)

A game to stir the senses, that harked back to cup ties of old.

Good old fashioned FA Cup clashes that really mean something are becoming rarer by the year, but this was certainly one, and Wolves haven't experienced one as enjoyable or thrilling since.

They finished third in the Premier League that season and fielded their strongest XI at Molineux with the FA Cup a clear priority for a club whose trophy cabinet hasn't had to be opened for a while.

After the game Robson said he was 'sick' at the result and even had to rebuff suggestions that Newcastle's season was over, such was the importance placed on the competition by the Magpies.

As for Wolves, the victory may have kept Dave Jones in a job, after he came under a brutal public attack from Sir Jack Hayward in the lead-up to the game.

Sir Jack outlined that Jones had told him with the summer signings of Denis Irwin, Paul Ince, Ivar Ingimarsson and Marc Edworthy, Wolves would be in the play-offs by Christmas and the top two by season's end.

At the time of the cup game Wolves were 10th, four points off the play-offs, and Jones' job was on the line.

However the famous cup victory was a catalyst like no other. Wolves lost just two league games in the next five months and of course won promotion through the play-offs.

Yesteryear drama on Molineux stage

Wolves 3 Newcastle 2, January 5, 2003

Remember this one. You would have to go back many years to recall a tie of such high drama and quality.

This was what we were told it used to be like. And in these football-drenched times Sky could not have picked a better clash to endorse the game.

The FA too must have been licking their lips at an epic tie that breathed fresh life into a competition that had been creaking at the knees in recent years.

Wolves fans will have been thrilled and baffled in equal measure. Somehow from the growing disenchantment threatening to accompany another stuttering season of under-achievement against the backdrop of Sir Jack Hayward's withering attack on an increasingly under pressure manager, Wolves conjured the performance of their lives to cause one of the shocks of the third round.

If they operate at anywhere above half throttle of this display at Bescot, the watching Colin Lee has his work cut out to prevent a severe hammering.

But the biggest reason why Jones finds himself under such pressure is because of the inconsistency that plagues this team.

With Wolves-like irony, they chalked up a few firsts at the end of a week where his position was placed under its sharpest focus yet.

In Jones's 100th match in charge – his 45th victory prevented his equal-worst run without a win – Paul Ince's superb opening goal was the 150th of the manager's reign, two days short of the anniversary of his first match when coincidentally Wolves last reached the fourth round.

Molineux club captain Paul Butler vowed Wolves would be at full throttle but we didn't expect them to be in overdrive for 90-plus throbbing minutes.

How watching former heroes Steve Bull and Robbie Keane must have wished they could have trotted out from their seats in the Billy Wright Stand to be on the end of some of the numerous chances which rained down for both sides.

Wolves were well worth their 2-0 lead from Ince and Kennedy inside the opening half-hour.

But when Newcastle pulled back to draw level in three crazy minutes before half time, it was game on – and in light of Wolves' troubles, you would have expected the Champions League contenders to have seized the initiative.

Jermaine Jenas's instinctive header to narrow the scoreline came after gaps had been worryingly exploited on Wolves' left by Craig Bellamy who was tugged back by Joleon Lescott to win the equalising penalty expertly despatched by Alan Shearer.

Murray then spread himself superbly to prevent clean-through Bellamy scoring.

And, in front of a nervous but jubilant home support, Wolves saw out the remaining tension-filled minutes for a famous victory.

Wolves: Murray; Irwin, Butler (Clyde 50), Lescott, Naylor; Newton (Cooper 83), Ince, Cameron, Kennedy; Ndah, Miller. Subs not used: Oakes, Rae, Andrews.

Goals: Ince (6), Kennedy (28), Ndah (50).

Newcastle: Given; Griffin, O'Brien (Dabizas 50), Hughes, Bernard; Solano (Lua Lua 76), Acuna (Ameobi 84), Jenas, Robert; Shearer, Bellamy. Subs not used: Harper, Kerr.

Goals: Jenas (40), Shearer (pen, 43).

Attendance: 27,316.

PLAYER RATINGS

Murray: Matched the best on a day some fans sung his name as England's No 1. Superb save to deny Bellamy, he started the move for the second goal with great throw and handled brilliantly throughout.

Irwin: Back on the big stage he loves, he kept Robert quiet and supported Newton well. Picked up his fourth booking of the season but was solid and made some important clearances.

Lescott: Many Premiership eyes will have been glued to their sets watching him – and he fulfilled his billing. Perhaps unfortunate to concede the penalty, he was a tower of strength again and made superb double block to keep Wolves ahead.

Naylor: Outrageous block from Lua Lua kept Wolves noses in front. Rose to the occasion against some of the Premiership's best to prove he has the quality required. Linked up tremendously with Kennedy.

Newton: Best game for ages to recapture the form he showed in is first four months at the club and deserved the ovation he got when he went off. Gave Bernard problems all afternoon and set up the second goal.

Ince: Scored a cracker for the second successive match and relished the big occasion again. With Cameron he won the battle in central midfield and went close to adding to his tally.

Cameron: Won many people's vote as man of the match, he never stopped running and tackling and beautifully created the second goal with quick feet.

Kennedy: His crosses set the first and third goals up and he scored the second as he answered his critics in his 50th game for the club. His best game of the season.

Ndah: Man of the match – and not because he notched the winner. For the first time since Nathan Blake's injury, Wolves managed to hold the ball in attack and it was all down to him. Never stopped causing problems.

Miller: Another who never stopped running and had what later looked like a legitimate goal wiped out.

Substitutes

Clyde: Slotted in seamlessly alongside Lescott.

Cooper: Only on the field for seven or so minutes but quickly got into the game.