Newcastle 1-5 Manchester United

Feb 24 2008 Euan Mclean At St James' Park

KEVIN KEEGAN famously once lost the plot with Sir Alex Ferguson when he let rip his legendary "I would looove it if we beat them" rant.

These days? Just beating anyone would be a dream for the Newcastle boss as the rampant Ronaldo and Rooney show stretched Keegan's miserable winless streak to SIX games.

Both United stars netted doubles and memories of Keegan's famous 5-0 rout of the Old Trafford side in 1996 were shot to pieces with the distraught Toon Army only spared the same scoreline by Abdoulaye Faye's consolation.

The visit ofUnited to these parts always generates a special atmosphere and certainly not a welcoming one as Ferguson and his boys stepped off the team bus to a carnivorous chorus of boos.

It has been 12 years since they've been eaten alive at St James' Park but Keegan's club are now in a much different state.

Most Toon punters feared the worst yesterday, especially after their previous meeting this season saw them thumped 6-0 at Old Trafford with hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo running amok.

The Portuguese star was in the thick of it again yesterday, intently watching two ball jugglers' nifty footwork during the pre-match entertainment before showing off a few of his own fancy step-overs.

But when the real action started Newcastle made the big early impression with hungry forays forward.

Michael Owen prowled dangerously on to the end of an early Charles N'Zogbia cross but was just too early to adjust his body and get the shot on target.

The home side took control of midfield with the tenacity of Nicky Butt and James Milner not giving Man U a minute's peace.

Slowly however, United's midfield began to impose themselves and the warning signs were there when Carlos Tevez fed Wayne Rooney to slide a clever diagonal pass for Nani in front of goal. Steven Taylor made a crucial clearance before the line but it was only a temporary reprieve.

The balance of this game swung on two big incidents in as many minutes.

First Newcastle were denied a penalty as Owen hit the deck in a tussle with Rio Ferdinand.

It would have been a soft award but that didn't spare ref Chris Foy the fury of the home support whose outrage intensified as United went up the park and grabbed a 25th-minute opener.

In truth they should be more angry at static left-back N'Zogbia who just watched as Rooney drifted unchecked to the back post to turn home Ronaldo's delightful delivery from the left.

Things only got worse for the Toon Army as N'Zogbia, Faye and Owen copped bookings, mostly for needless fouls, before the visitors made it 2-0 a minute before the break.

Again Ronaldo was the architect, using his lightning pace to storm clear on goal and chase Michael Carrick's perfect through ball that split Faye and right-back Habib Beye.

Ronaldo still had plenty to do with keeper Shay Given closing but his low finish across the Irishman was cool and clinical.

In his programme notes Keegan urged his players not to let themselves get down if they went behind but it was difficult to see a way back now.

Especially with the added blow of losing groin injury victim Given at half-time, replaced by Steve Harper.

United were forced into a switch of their own with Patrice Evra making way for John O'Shea.

The next goal was crucial and Damien Duff nearly delivered it with a lovely turn to shrug off Wes Brown only to see his shot charged down at the near post by keeper Edwin van der Sar. With that Newcastle's last hope had gone as Ronaldo ended this as a contest in 56 minutes.

He made it look so simple, meeting Darren Fletcher's pass with a deft touch to go clear of back-tracking Taylor before casually rounding the keeper and clipping his finish into the net.

Game over inside an hour and all too easy against a Newcastle side whose last victory was back on December 15.

On the evidence of this toothless display it could be a while yet before that miserable run is broken. Sure Faye's consolation, bundling home sub Andy Carroll's knock-down in a busy box 12 minutes from time, finally gave the home crowd something to cheer.

But the feelgood factor lasted all of two minutes before Rooney put them back in their place with an exquisite finish for United's fourth. The striker curled a superb 20-yard effort around Harper and inside the far post.

And the final insult came at the death when Rooney combined with sub Louis Saha to get the Frenchman in on the rout.