The pressure continues to mount on Kevin Keegan, with Newcastle surrendering a half-time lead to fall 4-1 to a rampant Aston Villa at Villa Park.
John Carew’s hat-trick piles on the misery for Keegan, who remains winless in the Premier League since his return.
Newcastle took an early lead when Michael Owen slotted home a header in the fifth minute. He appeared to be inspired by his lack of game time in England’s midweek friendly win over Switzerland.
Villa finally capitalised on their dominance when Wilfried Bouma scored with a powerful drive three minutes into the second half. Carey scored his first just three minutes later, flicking a header from a corner.
Horrible defending handed Carew his second and Villa’s third on 72 minutes, with the final indignity coming at the finish, when Stephen Carr handballed. Carew made no mistake from the spot.
Villa fans took great delight in ribbing the Newcastle manager, singing ‘There’s only one Kevin Keegan’.
“There were still some very good performances, but who cares when you get beat 4-1,” Keegan said.
“When you look at the second half the positives are forgotten because of the negatives and we are very fragile at the moment.”
Villa manager Martin O’Neill said a lack of preparation was to blame for a disappointing first half.
“Newcastle played some pretty football, deserved to be in the lead and we were second best,” He said. “Maybe we were suffering a hangover from getting beat at Fulham and because of the internationals this week we didn’t have a chance to discuss it until Friday night.
“We got the goal just after half-time and it reignites the crowd, put us back in business and we were excellent after that.”
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