A DAY that started with renewed takeover talk involving Amanda Staveley ended with Newcastle United labouring against lower-league opposition in the FA Cup. Welcome to Groundhog Day on Tyneside. Again.

As Steve Bruce was quick to point out after a thoroughly laborious afternoon, Newcastle are in the hat for this evening’s fifth-round draw, which has to be regarded as something of an achievement given the club’s horrendous FA Cup record in the last decade. By the time the replay comes around, scuppering what was supposed to have been a mid-season break, a number of the Magpies’ injured players should have returned. All things being equal, Bruce’s side should still progress at the Kassam Stadium.

Nevertheless, on the back of those dramatic last-gasp goals against Chelsea and Everton, this was a game that provided proof of the enduring weaknesses in the Newcastle squad, particularly in the final third.

Despite taking on a side 37 places below them, the Magpies rarely looked like fashioning a breakthrough. Allan Saint-Maximin provided an occasional burst of excitement, drilling in a shot in each half that was saved by Simon Eastwood, but too many of his dribbles took him down a blind alley. Joelinton toiled manfully despite a head wound that required eight stitches, but as has been the case so often this season, the Brazilian rarely looked like scoring. When a chance finally fell his way late on, he snatched at it, blazing wastefully over the crossbar.

Miguel Almiron looked exhausted, perhaps not a surprise given his schedule in the last month or so, but had to remain on the pitch for 90 minutes because of a lack of alternative options. With Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle unavailable, Bruce looked behind him in the dug-out to see Elias Sorensen and Tom Allan. Little wonder he is so keen to sign an attacker ahead of Friday’s transfer deadline.

“I haven’t been able to change them (the forwards) and freshen them up,” said Bruce. “Jo and Almiron have played right the way through and trained every day. I can’t speak highly enough of them, but they both looked tired.

“Allan has just come back from five weeks out and he found it a struggle too. The real ones where the creativity comes from found it tough, which was there for everybody to see.

“We haven’t got much choice in terms of what we can do. I gave the likes of the goalkeeper (Martin Dubravka) and Isaac (Hayden) and Federico (Fernandez) a breather, but unfortunately, at the top end of the pitch, we’re hampered at the minute with the loss of Andy, Dwight and even (Yoshinori) Muto.”

Having named a strong side in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 52,000, Bruce was right to regard Saturday’s game as a missed opportunity. If Newcastle make it through the replay and go on to reach Wembley, no one will remember their dour display in the fourth round. But on a day when the enduring appeal of the FA Cup was reaffirmed in the stands, it was hard to discern any magic on the pitch.

“I always knew they would come out and support us in the FA Cup,” said Bruce. “Let’s be fair, we’re not going to win the Premier League are we? I think any club, and this one in particular, are just desperate to try to win something.

“We’ve seen it – 30,000 for Rochdale, 50,000 today – there’s not many can do that. Fair play to the club too, with all the concessions, and to Oxford for agreeing to it. The minimum we could charge was a tenner, and it’s given us the opportunity to fill the stadium. It was good. It’s just disappointing for me we haven’t given them anything to shout about. Some of them were probably here for the first time, and we didn’t do enough. We have to be honest – we didn’t play anywhere near well enough.”

Having eased their way into the game in the first half, Oxford were the more threatening side for much of the second period and created the best opportunity of the afternoon when Marcus Browne broke into the box with 20 minutes left.

The former Middlesbrough loanee looked to have the goal at his mercy, but directed his shot too close to Karl Darlow, enabling the Newcastle goalkeeper to save.

“Any player who tells you he sleeps well after games is lying,” said Browne. “I will be up all night thinking, ‘What if, what if, what if?’ It was a great result for us, but it could have been so much better.”