TWO years ago, Newcastle's post-season lap of honour descended into farce when Sir Bobby Robson's side, who had finished fifth in the Premiership, were greeted by a mixture of indifference and jeers because of their failure to qualify for the Champions League.

Yesterday, after a 1-0 win over Chelsea had secured entry into next season's Intertoto Cup, the club's players were cheered as if they, and not their opponents, had won the Premiership title.

A sign of diminished expectations perhaps? Or simply recognition that after a wretched start to the season, the Magpies had successfully salvaged their dignity and pride? After all, it is not too long ago that Newcastle had looked like going into yesterday's game with their Premiership status on the line.

A season that started last July with an Intertoto Cup game against FK Dubnica ended with qualification for the same much-derided competition. Given the traumas that were experienced under former manager Graeme Souness, though, merely standing still is an achievement of sorts for the Magpies.

It is not, of course, ideal. The last nine months have still fallen far short of what was expected when chairman Freddy Shepherd shelled out more than £25m to sign Michael Owen and Albert Luque in the summer, and an extensive rebuilding project will be needed if Newcastle are to finally start moving forward again next season.

But any form of European qualification is a personal success story for Glenn Roeder given the precarious position he inherited when he replaced the hapless Souness in February.

Since then, Newcastle have won ten of their 15 league games, a record that is bettered by only two teams in the country, neither of which, incidentally, is Chelsea. If such a radical turnaround is not worthy of European football, it is difficult to say what is. Similarly, if such an impressive run of results is not enough to confirm Roeder's suitability for the top-flight, there is surely something amiss with the criteria used to assess managerial competence.

Yet for large parts of yesterday's game, the Magpies looked like missing out on a seventh-placed finish. Strangely sluggish given the carrot that was dangling in their face, Roeder's side rarely looked like making a breakthrough before Titus Bramble hooked home a spectacular opener in the 73rd minute. Despite Stephen Carr's immature dismissal, it was enough to see them home.

Once again robbed of the services of Owen, Newcastle's greater desire was enough to secure three priceless points in the end.

Chelsea's champions were dreaming of the beach - Roeder's men had an eye on a July double-header against Norwegian, Icelandic or Northern Irish opposition. Hardly a mouth-watering prospect, but the mere possibility of European competition was enough to motivate the Magpies.

They were quickest to every ball during a surprisingly sprightly first half, with Michael Chopra, who could well have been playing his final game in a black-and-white shirt, relishing an uneven physical tussle against the imposing Robert Huth.

After years of under-achievement, Chopra has finally begun to live up to his potential in recent weeks, with his derby-day goal against Sunderland undoubtedly having bolstered his previously-fragile confidence.

It is just a shame it is almost certain to be a case of too little, too late, with Roeder unlikely to offer the 22-year-old a new contract if he is allowed to take control of the Magpies on a permanent basis.

A tenth-minute half-volley was hooked straight at Lenny Pidgeley, promoted to the starting line-up after Carlo Cudicini turned his ankle in the preliminaries, and only a fantastic sliding tackle from William Gallas prevented Chopra opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time. On the whole, though, it was another day of frustrating ineffectiveness from the striker.

He was not alone on that score, with Chelsea offering little in an attacking sense other than an occasional foray forward from Joe Cole, who inevitability had half on eye on staying injury-free ahead of this summer's World Cup.

Cole inadvertently went close to opening the scoring when he deflected Huth's first-time volley wide of the post on the half-hour mark, and the visitors would have taken the lead had Shay Given, surely Newcastle's Player of the Year, not blocked Damien Duff's low strike shortly after.

Nolberto Solano had curled a 25-yard free-kick narrowly wide of the right-hand upright by that stage, but the Peruvian's strike proved to be one of his final acts of the season as a knock to his left shin forced him to leave the field on a stretcher.

The injury did little to assist Newcastle's cohesion, with the introduction of Jean-Alain Boumsong hardly representing the kind of gung-ho approach Roeder had hinted at before kick-off.

Carr replaced Solano on the right of midfield, not exactly an attacking ploy despite the 56th-minute drive that the Irishman flashed narrowly wide of the far post.

With Bolton having taken the lead against Birmingham, the pressure was on Newcastle to force a breakthrough after the interval. Instead, the home side conceded ground to Chelsea and watched helplessly as their opponents seized the initiative.

Twice the Londoners had the ball in the net, twice the assistant referee correctly flagged for offside. The second flag would not have mattered, however, had Maniche, from an onside position, found the net instead of the post before Shaun Wright-Phillips slotted home the rebound when offside.

Similarly, had Celestine Babayaro been sent off after clipping the heels of a goalbound Arjen Robben rather than being booked, things could have turned out rather differently.

Two lucky escapes, and ones from which Newcastle profited immediately. Amdy Faye headed Emre's corner across the face of goal and, showing attacking instincts Alan Shearer would have been proud of, Bramble hooked an acrobatic volley into the roof of the net.

That should have been the cue for Newcastle to take the sting out of the game but, instead, Carr allowed his temper to get the better of him. Frustrated after a series of niggling challenges, the Irishman was rightly dismissed after stamping on Lassana Diarra.

A battling rearguard action ensured the Magpies would not pay for Carr's childish act of impetuosity. On another day, they would not have been so lucky and the full-back would do well to remember that in future.

Result: Newcastle United 1, Chelsea 0.

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