Shearer caps walk in park for Newcastle

In the space of a month Newcastle's season has gone from imminent and bitter implosion to apparent stability and now soaring expectation. Four days after reaching the FA Cup semi-finals, last night they sealed a place in the Uefa Cup quarter-finals.

Alan Shearer scored twice - his 17th and 18th of the season - and is now only nine goals behind Jackie Milburn's record of 200 club goals. Progress to the last eight ensures another two games and means there are at least 13 for him to reach and surpass the landmark. Shearer, of course, is insistent that club success matters more and tomorrow's Uefa draw will reveal if the obstacles are as hazardous as Manchester United should be in Cardiff.

The semi-finals of the Uefa Cup are also drawn tomorrow, so Newcastle will be shown a path to Lisbon and the final in May. Given their momentum - on the occasion of the club's 100th European game, this was their eighth successive win - they may get to Portugal, though it is most unlikely they will be afforded the sort of passage offered last night by a lifeless Olympiakos.

The Greek side, good enough to accrue 10 points in their Champions League group, were in disarray after Newcastle's 3-1 win in Athens and, unrecognisable as a force, produced their one and only shot on target in injury-time.

Graeme Souness understandably chose to emphasise Newcastle's strengths rather than the visitors' weaknesses, and made the point: "We made a good side look ordinary."

The manager had been concerned that Newcastle might be complacent, but Olympiakos were so poor there was no need to fret. After Kieron Dyer opened the scoring with a clever backheel, it was simply a matter of how many.

Dyer had his most influential match for some time. With Patrick Kluivert and Shola Ameobi injured, he partnered Shearer and did so with a verve reminiscent of a certain Craig Bellamy. "Kieron was outstanding," said Souness. "It is a position he enjoys and, if you ask him, it is favourite position."

Enthused from the start, Dyer's activity was causing problems even before Nicky Butt spanked the bar from 20 yards on 15 minutes. Three minutes later Dyer ran on to a Lee Bowyer header and pirouetted then backheeled the ball simultaneously to nonplus the keeper Antonios Nikopolidis. The aggregate score was now 4-1 and Newcastle settled.

Before Shearer added the second in first-half injury-time, Steven Taylor hit the side-netting with a header and Shearer missed a sitter. Then, with the interval seconds away, Dyer burst into the area and pulled the ball back for the captain to score left-footed from six yards. Just prior to that there had been the first pro-Souness chants at St James' since he succeeded Sir Bobby Robson last September. The Scot responded with a wave. It was as if Heerenveen never happened.

The second half was a similar procession to the first. On 54 minutes Nikopolidis parried a header from Bowyer but Jermaine Jenas collected and set up Bowyer. This time with his right foot he beat Nikopolidis. With 20 minutes to go, Jenas then delivered another short, sharp pass and Shearer was on to it. Rounding Nikopolidis he lifted a shot high into the net. It prompted a chorus of "one more year".