Columbus Crew 0 Newcastle United 3

By Rob Scanlon- Newcastle United Video Reporter

United eased to a 3-0 victory over Columbus Crew, who were reduced to 10 men just before halftime. Shola Ameobi had already put Newcastle ahead when he rolled the ball home after eight minutes, and the hosts problems were increased when goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum was issued his marching orders for handling outside the penalty area.

Captain Fabricio Coloccini made it two when he capitalised on a loose ball from a Marveaux corner to shoot into the bottom corner from 10 yards. Substitute Haris Vuckic capped an excellent cameo appearance by curling a right footed effort into the top corner with almost the last kick of the game.

Text commentary-

90 min- Full time Columbus Crew 0 Newcastle United 3

90 min- Superb from the young attacker- United counterattacked from the Columbus corner and the ball reached Vuckic on the left corner of the box. After a little movement inside, Vuckic curled a measured effort towards the top left corner and despite a little touch from Konopka, it found the net for an excellent third goal.

90 min- GOAL- COLUMBUS 0 NEWCASTLE UNITED 3 (VUCKIC)

89 min- Josh Gardner wins a corner after his angled drive strikes a United defender. The corner is taken short and cleared easily

87 min- Vuckic delivers a lovely cross in from the left flank and Gosling meets the ball powerfully with his head- he's only denied by Konopka who saves the ball at the second attempt right on the line.

84 min- Mehdi Abeid is the latest United player to come on, as the number 35 comes on for Jonas Gutierrez. Vuckic finds an avenue with space down the right channel and squares the ball to Best who is given offside as he tries to round the keeper. Still 2-0 to Newcastle.

79 min- Gosling, who has been energetic throughout tonight, strikes a shot that a sprawling Konopka beats away. Gosling tries to crash the rebound home but to no avail as he's tackled at the vital second. Vuckic then shimmies past a couple of players and goes for the one-two with Smith but the former Manchester United player isn't on the same wavelength and the move breaks down.

78 min- A cross from the left is sent in by Jonas but caught by sub keeper Konopka- the winger has switched flanks now with Gosling on the right, Vuckic and Smith in the centre. Then Harper, who has had a very quiet evening, has a shot propelled at him by Rogers but it's straight at the keeper.

74 min- Marveaux now makes way and is replaced by Haris Vuckic. Marveaux has looked lively in patches- it doesn't look a serious injury as he jogs off and is taken to the dressing room for some treatment.

73 min- Sylvain Marveaux signals to the bench he needs to come off after being tackled near the edge of the box. First though, Ameobi, the scorer of United's first goal, comes off and Leon Best takes his place.

69 min- Not much to report from the last few minutes although Dummett has acquitted himself well so far by winning a few balls in the air and anticipating a through ball well. James Tavernier has looked solid again and has tried to support Jonas in attack whenever possible tonight.

62 min- A lobbed ball over the top from the home side finds Gaven onside. Dummett nudges him off the ball and the midfielder goes to ground. It's harsh, but the referee awards a free kick 20 yards out. The set piece strikes the wall and Columbus overrun the ball on the right flank and it's a goal kick.

59 min- Jonas rolls the ball from his right foot to left and without much backlift, aims a shot into the corner- it takes a slight deflection, and nearly crawls in. The resulting corner is headed wide from seven yards by Taylor who clutches his head in his hands. Alan Pardew's side are in full control against ten man Columbus. Alan Smith comes on to replace Cheik Tiote.

58 min- First action for Dummett is a vital header away from a teasing cross down the right. The youngster only arrived in America yesterday after being called up from the reserves tour of Holland.

55 min- United search for a third as Enrique dinks a cross in from the left and Ameobi can't quite direct his header on target. As Columbus march clear, Tiote is issued with a yellow card for clipping Burns on the halfway line.

51 min- Demba Ba forces a corner when his cross from the right of the box is closed down. Marveaux's delivery is aimed at Ameobi and when the ball drops following a mini scramble- Coloccini collects the ball calmly and shoots home left footed into the bottom left corner from 10 yards. That's the skipper's last action in this game as he hands the armband to Harper and makes way for Paul Dummett.

51 min- GOAL Columbus Crew 0 Newcastle United 2 (Coloccini) 

48 min- Corner to Columbus- the delivery is an inswinger from the right. Gehrig tries to meet it at the near post but Ameobi matches the defender stride for stride and hooks the ball downfield.

46 min- Close to a second goal for the Magpies as Enrique steams down the left, pulls the ball back from the byline and Gosling stabs the ball wide from seven yards, albeit under considerable pressure from a retreating defender.

46 min- No changes for Alan Pardew's side during the break, who will continue in their 4-4-2 formation, now kicking from left to right in their black and white home strip. Columbus have made six subs at halftime. They are in their yellow and black kit and are a man down after Gruenebaum's straight red card.

45 min- It looks like Columbus will be changing their entire line-up during the interval as all the subs, who are in full kit, are undergoing a vigorous warm up on the near touchline

45 min- Chris Konopka, the substitute goalkeeper was brought on in time for that freekick, with striker Emilio Renteria the unfortunate man to be sacrificed.

45 min- The subsequent freekick from Marveaux strikes the wall and loops out for a corner. We aren't going to have it though as referee Michael Kennedy, currently public enemy number one, blows for halftime with the score at - Columbus Crew 0 Newcastle United 1 (Ameobi). That late red card has certainly added spice to a game that United have bossed for large periods.

44 min- Tiote eases a ball through the defence to Ba, who looks favourite to get to the ball first. The keeper hurtles off his line and handles the ball in full view of the assistant, five yards outside of the penalty area. An easy decision but the home fans aren't happy

44 min- SENDING OFF (Gruenebaum- deliberate handball)

41 min- Tavernier and Jonas combine to work the ball neatly down the right. Gutierrez stands the cross up into the centre and under pressure, Gruenebaum collects the ball as it hangs in the air.

38 min- Brilliant from Gosling- who receives a short pass infield from the left and, knowing he needs to release the ball behind him quickly to set Ba away, he runs the ball of his instep straight into Ba's path. The former Hoffenheim man has a couple of step-overs and is closed down as he shoots- with Ameobi's rebound effort also not breaching the stubborn Columbus backline.

36 min- In a quite brilliant tactic, Columbus have seemingly instructed their group of cheerleaders to stand and dance behind Gruenebaum's goal to put the United strikers off. It hasn't worked out quite as planned though as Ameobi's 8th minute goal still seperates the sides.

34 min- Still no shots for Harper to save as Anor gets the better of Gosling when he holds off the former Plymouth man's challenge but drags his low left footed shot well wide of the left hand post.

32 min- A dangerous looking counterattack from Alan Pardew's men fizzles out as Jonas, who won a tackle on the halfway line, mishits a pass intended for the overlapping Gosling, when United had a four on four situation. Marshall gets to the ball first and Crew clear.

30 min- A quiet five minute spell ends with Ba being flagged offside as Columbus continue their strategy of holding a high defensive line. Their two centre halves, Gehrig and Marshall, are considerably shorter than Ba and Ameobi so the United forwards have enjoyed dominance in the air so far.

25 min- Some encouragment for the loud contingent of home fans as Ekpo embarks on a mazy dribble, hurdles both Enrique and Tiote this time and tees up Grossman who's right footed effort from the edge of the area isn't far wide of Harper's right hand post.

24 min- The hosts still haven't forced Harper into a save- Ekpo makes a run towards the edge of the area and gets beyond Enrique but not Tiote who ushers the midfielder off the ball, performs a step-over and calmy passes the ball clear.

19 min- Columbus are playing a risky game here as Ameobi is again only marginally offside as Marveaux delivers a delightful through ball that slices through the defence.

17 min- United have controlled this game so far, knocking the ball around with ease on this fantastic playing surface. Enrique sends a lofted 30 yard ball to Ameobi who chests the ball down and dashes for goal but just as he bears down on Gruenebaum, the assistant flags for offside.

13 min- Ameobi breaks the offside trap down the right wing as the black and yellow defence stand like statues. Ba is the only target in the box and Ameobi's cross is hit low to the near post and snaffled up by Gehrig who sweeps the ball away.

11 min- Coloccini and Enrique combine to deny Renteria a header on goal and Marveaux launches a counterattack, which culminates with Ameobi firing an effort from 16 yards that rebounds off a cluster of Columbus defenders. 

8 min- Skipper Marshall, playing at right back, passes inside to Eric Gehring but it's slightly undercooked and Ameobi robs the long haired defender of the ball and holds him off as he advances into the area. Ameobi draws the keeper and slots home right footed low to Gruenebaum's left. A first goal for United on the tour.

8 min- GOAL Columbus Crew 0 Newcastle United 1 (Ameobi)

5 min- An early catch from a left wing cross for Steve Harper, who is returning to this ground where he played for United 11 years ago on a pre-season tour. The pitch is immaculate here at Columbus Crew Stadium, and the shadow from the Main Stand is covering most of the field which will be a significant relief to Alan Pardew's men.

2 min- Enrique rolls the ball down the left touchline to Ameobi, who finds half a yard to cross the ball but it's overhit and swirls out for a throw-in on the opposite side.

1 min- The game gets underway with United kicking off- attacking from right to left in the first period. It's another hot evening and a good atmosphere too, even though the 20,000 seater stadium is only around half full at the moment.

0 min- Good evening/morning everyone and welcome to Columbus Crew Stadium for the final game of the club's Stateside tour. The game will kick off at the very exact time of 7.37:30 local time, 12.37:30 GMT. The players have just emerged from the dressing rooms as we await the national anthems.

Magpies boss Alan Pardew has made five changes to the side that lost 1-0 at Orlando City on Saturday night. Steve Harper, Jose Enrique, Sylvain Marveaux, Shola Ameobi and Demba Ba come in for Fraser Forster, Alan Smith, Leon Best, Peter Lovenkrands and Ryan Taylor. Taylor and Lovenkrands both miss out on the matchday squad through injuries picked up during the match in Florida.

There will be full live text commentary here on nufc.co.uk along with extensive reaction and highlights on nufcTV.

United team in full- Steve Harper, James Tavernier, Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Jose Enrique. Jonas Gutierrez, Cheik Tiote, Dan Gosling, Sylvain Marveaux. Shola Ameobi, Demba Ba. Substitutes- Tim Krul, Fraser Forster, Paul Dummett, Alan Smith, Mehdi Abeid, Haris Vuckic, Leon Best

Columbus Crew side in full- Andy Gruenebaum, Sebastian Miranda, Chad Marshall (c), Eric Gehrig, Shaun Francis. Emmanuel Ekpo, Kevin Burns, Cole Grossman, Bernardo Anor. Emilio Renteria, Tommy Heinemann. Substitutes- Chris Konopka, Josh Gardner, Julius James, Korey Veeder, Eddie Gaven, Santiago Prim, Robbie Rogers, Dejan Rusmir, Ben Sippola, Aaron Horton, Justin Meram.