Newcastle United 3, Portsmouth 0

AFTER three days in which the talk on Tyneside has been about the possible end of Freddy Shepherd's reign at Newcastle, it was somewhat ironic that rain of a different nature dominated the game that could yet spark a turnaround in his club's fortunes.

With a torrential downpour turning St James' Park into a quagmire, Guiseppe Rossi's first goal for the Magpies, allied to a second-half double from Nolberto Solano, earned a Carling Cup success that should ease the anxiety that has engulfed Tyneside in the wake of last weekend's derby defeat to Middlesbrough.

The treacherous underfoot conditions mean that it would be dangerous to read too much into a deserved victory over a Portsmouth side who showed limited appetite for a game that became little more than a battle of wills.

But given the way in which the League Cup helped to hasten Graeme Souness' Gallowgate departure a year ago, Glenn Roeder will take even the smallest of mercies as he attempts to turn his side's season around.

Last season, Souness lost to a second-string Wigan outfit and, nine weeks later, the Scot was out of a job. Things haven't got that bad this time around, but Newcastle's continued presence in a cup that offers their best chance of a return to Europe can only enhance Roeder's position as his side continue to flounder in the bottom half of the Premiership.

That Kieron Dyer also got 30 minutes of football under his belt ahead of Saturday's visit of basement boys Charlton was an added bonus on a night when the weather was the game's most conspicuous winner.

With torrential rain lashing down at kick-off, it is questionable whether referee Andre Marriner should have allowed play to get under way at a waterlogged St James'.

But it was clearly a case of Marriner by name, mariner by nature as conditions that would have been more fitting for fishing were applied to the football pitch.

With the game beginning despite the presence of puddles that prevented the ball running freely, neither set of players enjoyed total control over where their passes were going.

The result was something of a lottery, with the ball repeatedly holding up and occasionally aquaplaning off the surface to bamboozle the players around it.

Any actual football was at a premium although, in the early stages, the ascendancy was with the visitors. Portsmouth is a navy town and, initially at least, it was Newcastle who were all at sea in the inclement conditions.

Niko Kranjcar tried his luck from distance in the fourth minute and while the Croatian's shot would not have posed too much of a problem on a dry night, it forced Steve Harper into a smart save at the base of his left-hand post.

David Thompson was similarly speculative three minutes later - Harper was equally alert again - and without the presence of their rested skipper Scott Parker, it took Newcastle's players all of the opening 15 minutes to feel their way into the game.

To their credit, though, they managed to do just that and while the lively Lomana Lua Lua remained a threat whenever the ball fizzed beyond the Magpies' backline, the home side just about shaded the rest of a staccato first half.

Solano saw a deflected free-kick loop harmlessly into the hands of David James before Rossi, making the first start of his loan spell from Manchester United, narrowly failed to reach a through ball from Nicky Butt.

More worryingly, Celestine Babayaro was unable to stop himself sliding into the advertising hoardings following a foul from David Thompson. The Nigerian continued, but not before he had cast an accusatory glance in the direction of the referee.

Portsmouth's players were fixing steely stares of their own ten minutes before half-time, but this time they were aimed at their goalkeeper rather than the match officials.

Displaying the kind of rashness that led to him being dropped from the England side, James chose to leave his line when Solano's long ball sent Obafemi Martins scampering down the right touchline.

But, for the second game in row, Newcastle's £10m man was unable to find the target after chipping an opposition goalkeeper. His miss at Middlesbrough ultimately cost the Magpies at least a point - last night, at least, he could point to the underfoot conditions as an adequate excuse before failing to reappear after half-time.

Lua Lua could also plead mitigating circumstances when he stabbed the ball straight through to Harper after outpacing Craig Moore, while at the other end, Titus Bramble fired a 44th-minute volley over the crossbar after charging on to Solano's corner.

The chances might have been enough to hold the attention but the game, perhaps unsurprisingly, was something of a damp squib.

It burst into life three minutes after the break, though, with Rossi opening his Magpies account. The America-born Italian, who boasts 42 goals in 49 reserve games for his permanent employers, Manchester United, swivelled in the box after James Milner had been tackled and swept a precise side-footed strike past James.

Buoyed by their breakthrough, a lively Newcastle duly doubled their advantage with an even more impressive goal five minutes later.

Damien Duff delivered a picture-book centre from the left touchline and, despite his lack of stature, Solano directed a deft diving header into the corner of James' goal.

The sight of the Peruvian scoring with his head was a surprise, but it was nothing compared with the 60th-minute introduction of Dyer, pictured below left.

The injury-plagued England international wasn't even supposed to be on the bench until he came through a reserve-team run-out against Darlington on Tuesday and, given his lengthy history of hamstring trouble, it was widely assumed that his elevation to the substitute ranks was little more than a cosmetic act.

Instead, Dyer's first appearance since April's 4-1 win at Sunderland began with a typically direct dribble, peaked with a drive that whistled across the face of James' goalmouth, and ended with him celebrating with Solano after the winger added a third goal in stoppage time.

Milner's shot was blocked by the Pompey defence but, with Rossi also in close proximity, Solano pounced to ram home the rebound.