Magpies knocked out by five-star Blues

Barclays Premiership hopefuls Birmingham dumped pathetic Newcastle out of the FA Cup with a dominant performance in their 5-1 victory at St James' Park.

Gary McSheffrey's fifth-minute strike and a Nolberto Solano own goal put the Coca-Cola Championship leaders in the driving seat by half-time.

James Milner dragged the Magpies back into it with a 56th-minute strike, but after Steven Taylor was dismissed, Bruno N'Gotty, Sebastian Larsson and DJ Campbell all helped themselves with the Magpies in complete disarray.

The visitors needed only five minutes to take the lead, McSheffrey collecting Larsson's half-cleared cross to thump a shot past Shay Given and set the stage for a shock.

The Magpies fleetingly looked as though they might drag themselves back into it as Matty Pattison, Obafemi Martins and Antoine Sibierski tried their luck from distance, but to little effect, and in was the visitors who extended their lead on the stroke of half-time.

Cameron Jerome slipped away from Taylor on the right and drilled a cross to the far post where Solano, under pressure from Campbell, put through his own goal.

Newcastle's evening was summed up in the 52nd minute when Martins worked a rare opportunity for himself, but completely missed his kick. Maik Taylor had to get down well to claim Pattison's volley seconds later and the home side were at last making an impression.

The pressure paid off in the 56th minute when Milner ran on to Antoine Sibierski's lay-off and smashed a right-foot shot home from 25 yards.

Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder replaced Pattison with Alan O'Brien, but his plans were torn apart within a minute when Steven Taylor tugged back Campbell and then clipped his heels and was sent off. Larsson drove the resulting free-kick into the defensive wall, but the ball ricocheted to N'Gotty and he lashed it into the net to restore his side's two-goal advantage.

But the agony was far from over for Newcastle, Larsson and Campbell compounding the misery with 83rd and 89th-minute strikes to make it a black night for Geordies.