Newcastle talisman Alan Shearer brought the perfect end to a perfect day for Tyneside by completing 100 goals under manager Sir Bobby Robson in a 3-0 victory.

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Hours after watching Newcastle Falcons star Jonny Wilkinson kick England to victory in the Rugby Union World Cup final, Tyneside's other sporting superstar claimed a double inside the last 13 minutes to finally break Manchester City as the Magpies bounced back from their mauling at Chelsea.

Those two strikes, coupled with Shola Ameobi's 57th-minute opener, were enough to clinch the three points on an afternoon when Newcastle never really hit top form but were more than good enough to see of Kevin Keegan's men.

City strikers Nicolas Anelka and Robbie Fowler barely got a sniff as the returning Jonathan Woodgate and Titus Bramble won their individual battles, but when the chances came at the other end, there was little opposite numbers Sylvain Distin and Richard Dunne could do to rescue their side.

With England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson watching from the stands on a day of celebration for the nation's sporting fraternity, a bumper crowd of 52,159 arrived ready to continue the party.

However, the fare on offer was not the most appetising as both sides struggled to penetrate as defences dominated.

Indeed, the first 45 minutes passed without either Shay Given or David Seaman having to make a genuine save, the result of a combination of good defending and less than effective attacking.

Both sides were guilty of a lack of quality with the final ball with Laurent Robert and Jermaine Jenas in particular too often picking out blue shirts.

Kieron Dyer, restored to the Newcastle line-up after a six-game absence with a hamstring injury, showed flashes of his best, but was understandably rusty, although Woodgate, who had missed 11 matches following surgery on a double hernia, looked as though he had never been away.

Fowler signalled his intent with an early strike which whistled over Given's crossbar, but chances were few and far between at that end of the ground as Bramble and Woodgate did well to contain Fowler and Anelka.

Newcastle created more opportunities, but few of them were clear-cut, Olivier Bernard flashing one effort wide and Ameobi ballooning another over the bar after controlling Woodgate's knock-down on his chest.

However, the home side looked the more potent and Gary Speed passed up a glorious chance to open the scoring two minutes before the break after Robert had headed Bramble's long ball down to Ameobi and then set off in pursuit of the return pass.

The Frenchman drilled a low cross across the six-yard box, where Speed got his foot to it but just could not direct the ball at goal.

Robert took centre stage in the minutes immediately after the break, twice going just wide as Newcastle moved up a gear.

But his side's frustration increased as the game wore on without a breakthrough, although City were offering little in attack and time was on their side.

The deadlock was finally broken with 57 minutes gone after Aaron Hughes dispossessed Fowler in his own half and with the help of Dyer and Speed, fed the ball to Robert.

The former Paris St Germain winger turned away from Sun Jihai and sent a deep cross to the far post where Steve McManaman managed to block Ameobi's initial header but could not prevent the rangy striker from poking the rebound past Seaman and into the net.

City responded by surging forward, although McManaman wasted a good opportunity after Trevor Sinclair had crossed from the right and Joey Barton could not pick out a team-mate after getting free inside the penalty area.

They were made to pay 13 minutes from time when Bernard produced the perfect ball from the left for Shearer to power an unstoppable header past Seaman from point-blank range to wrap up the points.

It could have been even worse for City had Seaman not pulled off a fine double stop 10 minutes from time to deny first Ameobi and then Jermaine Jenas.

But there was little he could do five minutes later when Ameobi headed down Bernard's cross for Shearer and he scrambled the ball home.

Robson salutes captain marvel

Newcastle manager Sir Bobby Robson saluted captain Alan Shearer after his double in the 3-0 home win over Manchester City took his tally under the former England boss to 100.

'It's very good,' Robson said. 'It's outstanding marksmanship, 100 goals in four years when you consider when I came he was out of the team.

'He's had four very good years. He's been a great talisman for us, and he's led the line again with strength, courage, a good personality.

'The two strikers did very well. Alan leapt like a salmon all afternoon, held it up, tough to play against, won a lot of balls in the air. His general play was of a high quality.'

Kevin Keegan agreed, saying: 'There isn't anybody better at what he does, I don't think, in the world. That's why, along time ago now it seems, I fetched him here.

'People thought ?5million was a lot of money, but I thought at the time it was a great signing and I think every year that goes by, he just proves more and more that he was good value for his money.

'I don't know how they'll replace him - and they will have to do that one day. He's so clever, isn't he? He doesn't try to do the things he can't do.

'I think he's a leader, and there aren't that many leaders in football now.

'There a lot of players who want to be good players and want to score goals and play in his position. But he's still got that throwback to the past whereby you feel that he's going to make players do things that they maybe don't really want to do.

'I think he's the complete player, and not playing for England was a good choice for him because it means he can actually maximise what he's doing for his club.'

Robson then went on topraise his whole team for their efforts. 'We've given an excellent performance,' he said. 'We've had a terrific response from the players after the debacle at Chelsea.

'We did pitch into them, but there are no praises high enough for every single player. Everybody has played to their potential and every player can be very happy.'

Keegan, however, was disappointed by an insipid display from his side as they recorded a second successive 3-0 defeat.

'I don't think we created enough here today,' he said. 'You've got Jonathan Woodgate coming back and there's no doubt he's a class player, but Titus Bramble was outstanding today.

'If you look back over a period of time, he's been criticised for making the odd error, but today he won most things in the air.

'I think we always had a struggle aerially against Alan and Ameobi - mainly Alan. We won't be the only ones to struggle there because he's a master of his trade - that was the big difference in the game for me.'

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