Ramsbottom Utd 3 Newcastle Town 0

THE Rams buried the disappointment of Saturday's FA Cup defeat, storming to a 3-0 win over title contenders Newcastle Town.

On a saturated surface both sides got in early strikes with Russell Brierley bringing a save from Newcastle keeper Chris Holmes and at the other end Dean Cunningham testing Keith Neild.

Play swung from end to end with defences coping well with the tricky conditions but on 26 minutes Newcastle couldn't deal with David Yorke-Robinson's low cross and Francis Vaughan slid in to score at the far post.

The visitors responded with a vicious shot from Justin O'Reilley but the impressive Neild made a difficult stop look easy.

Six minutes into the second half United went two up when Vaughan delivered a superb ball into the danger area. A headlong dive by Andy Grimshaw got the first touch and Russell Brierley beat Holmes with a further diving header.

The Potteries side came forward in numbers as they looked to get back into the game but sound defending by Ramsbottom backed up by a couple of fine saves by Neild kept their two goal advantage intact.

With ten minutes to go, substitute Chris Brookes put the game beyond Newcastle's reach when his surging run took him into the penalty area. He gave Holmes no chance with a finish of real quality.