IT is testament to Newcastle United's current frailty that Jonathan Woodgate looked ever so slightly ruffled last night.

He always has an air of superiority about him on the pitch, as befits an elegant centre-back.

While other Newcastle defenders show all the composure of Dangermouse's sidekick Penfold, Woodgate is unflappable.

He doesn't run across the turf; he glides, and the sweatband he wore yesterday initially seemed superfluous: at first, he did not appear to perspire.

Then, after a placid opening 45 minutes, Newcastle's European dreams collapsed around a blameless Woodgate's ears.

Partnered by Andy O'Brien - preferred to Titus Bramble after Saturday's shocker against Manchester United - Woodgate raged against the dying of his side's Champions League light.

Neither was to blame for the Partizan goal that sent the match into extra time; O'Brien was dragged out of position by an Olivier Bernard mistake and from then on he and Woodgate were always chasing shadows.

But as the Serbs grew in stature after levelling the aggregate score, so Newcastle became more reliant on their central defensive partnership to stem the tide.

O'Brien was booked for a silly challenge on Andrija Delibasic, but Woodgate used his footballing nous to stay out of trouble and keep Newcastle's ailing ship afloat.

Another Bernard blooper early in extra time - on this occasion the left-back tracked the ball, not his man - left Woodgate stranded.

Newcastle survived that time, but Woodgate and O'Brien were having far too much involvement in the match for Sir Bobby Robson's liking.

How Newcastle missed Woodgate on Saturday - he was absent with a stomach injury - but his commanding presence kept Partizan at bay. He was often the spare man at the back, and early on he snuffed out a handful of visiting raids with the minimum of fuss.

O'Brien, by contrast, came to the fore as an impenetrable stopper, strong in the air and on the floor.

Woodgate's style is understated and undemonstrative, yet he remains comfortably Newcastle's best defender.

Indeed, he was as noticeable as an attacking, rather than a defensive force in the first half at St James' Park.

One header, at full stretch, diverted the ball to Shay Given when it had previously been arcing towards the unmarked Delibasic.

Shortly afterwards, Woodgate nodded the ball into the Partizan six-yard box, but Alan Shearer flicked it over the crossbar.

As Newcastle stumbled in the second half, however, so Woodgate and O'Brien were less composed.

Even so, they still kept their heads while all around them teammates and about 37,000 Geordies were losing theirs. And with Woodgate a certain starter in Newcastle's strongest eleven, O'Brien has stayed in front of Bramble in the battle to play alongside him.

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