'Victimisation can be glamorous. Manchester United preyed on Newcastle, using every trick, pass and shot to cleanse themselves of the blandness that has so inexplicably crept into their system this season. Even though the rains fell, Sir Alex Ferguson's players basked in a performance that leads on to an FA Cup final against Arsenal on May 21.
United had tuned themselves up, with Ruud van Nistelrooy back in key so that he scored his first goals since November 27. The sole suspense associated with this tie lay in the vigil to discover whether he would be the first person to claim an FA Cup semi-final hat-trick since 1958. The Dutchman did not quite make it but that was the only restriction imposed by Newcastle.
It would be exhausting to chart all their failings but the expanse of the team that separated the busy goalkeeper Shay Given from the purposeful attacking partnership of Alan Shearer and Shola Ameobi was a wasteland. The sapping effects of Thursday's Uefa Cup loss to Sporting Lisbon in Portugal do not begin to constitute an excuse.
Jean-Alain Boumsong, who had been ineligible for that match, lacked all resilience. It was agonising, too, to see Nicky Butt, who has carved a handsome career out of his steadiness, so haphazard that he initiated the third goal for United by squirting a pass straight to Wayne Rooney. He could not even even plead fatigue in mitigation, having spent Thursday evening at ease on the substitutes' bench.
The only hope Newcastle have of being spared denunciations for yesterday's efforts will rest on the public's preference for dwelling on United's stylishness. It is dumbfounding that a squad capable of so much has been largely incapable of making its skills register this season.
Though suspensions and injuries ruled out five members of the Newcastle squad, there still has to be regard for the flair of United. Souness must have supposed that he was sending out a hardy side when he put both Amdy Faye and Butt at the core of the midfield but United recognised no barriers.
Overcoming the disgrace of a booking for a dive in the fifth minute as he attempted to fool the referee Mike Riley into awarding a penalty, Cristiano Ronaldo brought back memories of his effervescent performance when he was last in Cardiff for last year's FA Cup final win over Millwall. Roy Keane provided a scathing contrast to Newcastle's midfield bumbling and Rooney's mixture of dynamism and flair had opponents quaking.'