Little, who had another fine game at left-back, had no complaints with the way the team fought their way back into match though. "I think we did show a lot of character. We had a penalty, Wilkesy had a chance and how Southall saved Anthony's shot, I'll never know. The difference was, they took their chances."

The game became a physical battle at times and Little himself had to be replaced after picking up a gashed thigh that required seven stitches.

"We fully expected it. Nigel Winterburn was not happy about last year, not happy at all. He wanted to come out and prove they were the Legends. They had to resort to kicking us to pieces to win. But that's complimentary because they treated us like a proper team."

Alex Lawler was also proud of the Celebs' efforts and said, "It was a tough start, but we said we'd never give in. Credit to the boys because we kept going the whole game. We had a lot of chances, we had a disallowed goal, we missed a penalty. We were very unlucky."

Sir Bobby Robson was glad the people of Newcastle got to see such a good contest, "The match see-sawed. That's why it was a good game. It was entertaining. Nobody dominated the game for long periods.

And Sir Bobby had some words of praise for keeper Neville Southall, "He made one breathtaking double save. The first save was very good, the second was incredible really."

Without the big Welshman, it could have been a very different story.