Michael Owen struck to hand Kevin Keegan a first victory since his return to Newcastle United with this 2-0 win over Fulham.

The 28-year-old glanced home an 83rd-minute Geremi free-kick to ensure all three points were banked for the first time since December 15 as the Magpies completed a double over Fulham.

Mark Viduka had fired the home side into a sixth-minute lead, but a side which had not won in 13 attempts in the Barclays Premier League made hard work of it before Owen also demonstrated his potency to kill off any prospect of a fightback.

The win left Newcastle in 13th place in the table, six points clear of the drop zone, although with work still to be done.

Keegan said: "People keep questioning all sorts of things with these great players, but they can answer them.

"Michael probably answered a few critics again today - and there are plenty out there, from what I am seeing.

"But the players always get the chance to do that on the football field. People can write what they want, but as a journalist, you have got to sit there and write what you see and today, you saw someone totally committed.

"He has led this team fantastically. He is a great skipper, not because of all the things he shouts, but because of the example he shows.

"He is a team player - we have asked him to play a different role and it is not, 'Oh, well it's not what I do', it is, 'Yes, I will do that', and he is playing it very, very well.

"I have said all the time what I think of Michael Owen. He would certainly be in most people's England side.

"What he needs is to be at a club which is successful and scores goals. Today, he is at a club that has been successful on the day and he has scored a goal.

"He is definitely in form. This idea that Michael is not as sharp as he was has been dispelled this week with his finish at Birmingham, where the one thing you think of when he scored that goal is sharpness, and today again against another committed side.

"Michael will just keep doing what he does. By all means criticise when they are not doing well, but praise them when they are."