A late cameo by Michael Owen on his return from his latest injury setback helped Newcastle to a 3-2 home win against a spirited Everton side.

The England striker was introduced along with Emre with 15 minutes left and the score locked at 1-1.

It was Owen's fellow substitute who made the first breakthrough with a rasping left-footed drive that flashed into the bottom right-hand corner of the visitors' net, the ball sitting up nicely for Turkish midfielder on the edge of the penalty area after some good work by Owen down the right wing.

And a minute later Newcastle's number 10 had got his own name on the score sheet after converting a simple chance with a header from the six-yard line.

Seeing Owen finding the net has become a rare sight after his horrible run of injuries over the past two years, but seeing Nicky Butt score with 20-yard curlers really is an oddity.

But that is exactly what happened with 40 minutes gone as the one-time England midfielder latched on to a loose ball just inside the penalty area and stroked the ball sweetly into the top right hand corner of the goal. It was more like Beckham than Butt.

That was the decisive moment of an even first half. Both sides had started without some of their best-known forwards, with Owen warming the bench for the home side and David Moyes preferring the in-form James McFadden and Victor Anichebe over his usual pairing of Andy Johnson and Ayegbeni Yakubu.

With the Toffees' new-look strike-force looking lightweight in the first 45 minutes, it came as no surprise that Johnson was called on at half-time for McFadden.

And the livewire striker took just six minutes to repay his manager for bringing him on. Leighton Baines showed strength and determination to storm into the penalty area on the left and his coolly-placed centre left Johnson with the easiest of chances to convert. For a striker who has been struggling badly in front of goal it was just what he needed and he duly bundled the ball into the empty net to haul his side level.

With the game finely balanced both sets of supporters were looking towards their benches to see if Owen or Yakubu would be brought on. While Sam Allardyce decided to make the change, Moyes opted to leave his £11 million signing on the sidelines.

By the time the Nigerian was introduced his side were 3-1 down and their hopes of getting anything out of the game minimal. There was a consolation right at the death though, as a Mikel Arteta cross brushed off Alan Smith's head to loop over Shay Given and in off his outstretched hand to give the scoreline a fairer complexion.

While England fans will now be dreaming of more heroics on the international stage from Owen, Allardyce will be desperately crossing his fingers that the £17 million man returns from the Estonia and Russia matches unscathed.

Ben Phillips / Eurosport