ONE of the men drafted in to transform Newcastle United's fortunes in the summer delivered the perfect Tyne-Wear derby match winner to ease the pressure on the manager who brought him to the North-East, Graeme Souness.

Turkish midfielder Emre curled an unstoppable free-kick in off Sunderland goalkeeper Kelvin Davis' left post to secure the bragging rights, a much-needed three points and more breathing space for Souness in his role as the under-fire Magpies boss.

Despite a workmanlike display from Sunderland, which could quite easily have earned a point against their biggest rivals, Newcastle edged themselves in front for the third time in a frenetic game and finally managed to stay there.

And, as well as lifting the club from Tyneside above Middlesbrough and to within five points of the top six, it is a victory that means a whole lot more in terms of confidence building and relief.

The way Emre ran over to Souness and exchanged a hug after curling his free-kick past Davis highlighted the importance of beating their old adversaries, and putting to bed soporific performances against Wigan and Portsmouth.

And the Newcastle boss - aware that Ruud Gullit was sacked six years ago after defeat to Sunderland - showed how thankful he was for a potentially morale-boosting three points by hugging every one of his players at the final whistle.

Sunderland, despite another encouraging display, go in to next Saturday's home date with Portsmouth searching for a second win of the campaign which could lift them out of the relegation zone.

Yesterday was another occasion this season when manager Mick McCarthy has been able to leave the ground happy with the performance but not the result. Something he knows needs to be rectified if his side are to stay in the top-flight.

The four goals inside eight minutes before half-time further brightened an already enthralling match-up which had both sets of supporters gripped with excitement and nerves.

Striker Shola Ameobi, the man charged with the responsibility of filling the void left by the injured Michael Owen, became a hero when he scored his first goal since May.

But midfielder Liam Lawrence squared things up less than two minutes later when he found the perfect finish to beat Shay Given from 25 yards.

Ameobi put the hosts back in front, but Sunderland striker Stephen Elliott conjured up a moment of magic for the second week running to erase the deficit again.

But, after the restart, Emre's world-class talent provided the difference between the two local rivals and ensured the 3,500 Sunderland fans' short trip back to Wearside was not particularly pleasant.

Given that it is almost two months since the euphoria surrounding Michael Owen's arrival at St James' Park, the mood had plummeted to being downbeat during the build up to yesterday's game.

The fact the £16m centre-forward - the club's record buy and a vital ingredient to Souness' side - did not recover from the tight hamstring picked up in a routine midweek practice match only deflated spirits further.

But this result could, and should, have a great impact on Newcastle's season.

The manager tried to cover the cracks as best he could by avoiding being cautious and adopted the same sort of approach as if Owen had been involved.

Meaning winger Nolberto Solano made his second debut for the club in his favoured right midfield role.

Despite the £50m spent by the Newcastle boss since taking over, in stark contrast to McCarthy's meagre £4m summer outlay on new faces, the Sunderland bench bizarrely looked the stronger.

A hallmark of Sunderland's play on their return to the Premiership has been their grit and determination, and that was evident in the two clubs' first meeting in two-and-a-half years.

And before a minute had even elapsed that dogged spirit ended with Dean Whitehead setting the tone for the day with a crunching tackle from behind on Emre - a foul that led to referee Rob Styles dishing out the first of four cards.

Emre's response was to the point. The former Inter Milan playmaker burst from midfield, past Whitehead, and unleashed a wicked left foot drive that was punched clear by goalkeeper Davis.

That was Newcastle's first of four efforts on goal before the four-goal spree which made an already intriguing fixture even more entertaining.

Davis made a fantastic stop with his outstretched left hand to deny Ameobi's low shot, while Alan Shearer could only pull a right-foot strike from 18-yards marginally wide of the Sunderland far post.

The biggest question, though, was who was going to find the net in the absence of Owen? Ameobi provided the answer.

The gangly striker, who had looked out of sorts up to this point, worked his way free of his marker from an Emre corner and picked his spot with a terrific header.

That proved to be just the start of the excitement, as the opener prompted Sunderland to finally burst into life at the other end.

After picking up possession well inside the Newcastle half, Lawrence skipped around Scott Parker before unleashing a wicked strike into Given's bottom left corner from distance.

But Newcastle went in front again.

Charles N'Zogbia's volleyed cross led to Ameobi leaning over his old Newcastle team-mate Caldwell to force the ball over Davis' line.

Caldwell does not have the best memories of Tyne-Wear derby days. He was outjumped during his days at St James' Park in November 2000 when Niall Quinn scored to help Sunderland to a memorable victory.

And yesterday Caldwell, wearing the captain's armband from the moment Gary Breen went off, was subjected to more embarrassment wearing the red and white stripes.

After Elliott had scored one of the best goals of the year - when he worked free of Parker and directed a precise left foot drive into Given's top corner to equalise for a second time - Caldwell gifted Newcastle the free-kick by hauling down Ameobi which led to Emre's clinical winner.

As Sunderland searched to draw level again, Elliott robbed Jean-Alain Boumsong inside his own area and only fine shot-stopping from Given denied the Irish striker his second of the afternoon.

Then Elliott chipped over Given, after Lawrence's long ball was knocked down by Anthony Le Tallec, but his effort bounced off the crossbar and was cleared by Boumsong.

Sunderland pushed forward and can count themselves unfortunate to lose their fourth successive derby day encounter.

But Newcastle, will not care one jot.

Result: Newcastle United 3, Sunderland 2.

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