SHOLA Ameobi has always been a footballer who divides opinion on Tyneside. Today the fans will only be split between those who love him and those who adore him.

As an old-fashioned centre-forward it seems incongruous to say so, but there is something about European football which brings the best out of the battering-ram centre-forward.

His third goal in this season’s competition and 15th in all in continental competition put Newcastle United into the last 16 of the competition, but every bit as crucial were two late saves from Tim Krul.

In between the pair, the rest of the team carried out Alan Pardew’s tactical blueprint to perfection in a classic European performance.

Having promised to go all out for victory – or at least the score draw that would take them through – before the match, it was a surprise to see Pardew do without Stephen Taylor, while Cheick Tiote’s absence was forced by a virus.

Most surprisingly of all, Papiss Cisse was pushed out to the right wing to accommodate Ameobi.

With freezing temperatures contributing to the slipperiness of the pitch and a whistle-happy referee, the game quickly slipped into an attritional feel. It was only added to with Newcastle’s focus on the long ball for Ameobi to flick into Cisse’s path.

Like pretty much everything else Pardew has did tactically over the course of the two legs, it proved a smart move.

It might have brought dividends had Fininho not beaten the Senegal striker to Ameobi’s header from a Tim Krul goal-kick.

The pair always looked Newcastle’s best source of a goal, both dragging weak shots wide in the first 20 minutes after cutting on to their left feet, although Ameobi’s had the sting taken out of it by a deflection.

A Yohan Cabaye free-kick midway through the first half was kept away from Ameobi by a slightly unconvincing Olexandr Goryainov punch and when the Frenchman picked him out with a deeper set-piece later, the ball fell to a cluster of yellow shirts.

If Moussa Sissoko had only been able to see a chink of light to thread the ball into, Ameobi would have had acres of grass to run into with Cristian Villagra absent without leave. Cisse would again be thwarted by Goryainov, along with the officials his first-leg nemesis, who rushed out to save after the striker’s one-two with Ameobi.

As the half wore on Metalist cranked up the pressure, helped by Serge Gumienny’s fondness for blowing on their whistle, particularly when Fabricio Coloccini and debutant Massadio Haidara were at the forwards’ backs. The succession of free-kicks came to little, however.