On November 7th 1987 Newcastle slumped to 18th place after they were thrashed 4-0 at Kenilworth Road. The Hatters took full advantage of their superiority to "showboat" a bit, much to the annoyance of the Newcastle players.
By the time the return match was played at St James Park on April 2nd, a Gascoigne and Goddard inspired United had reached mid-table respectability.
Eighteen year old striker Michael O'Neill had just broken into the team after signing from Coleraine in October and this was to be the high point of his short career at United.
A hat-trick by O'Neill and another goal by Paul Goddard ensured that the Toon gained adequate retribution for their Hatters horror. The fourth goal was scored with minutes remaining on the clock and some of the United players decided it was "pay-back time".
It all started when Darren McDonaugh (later to be signed by Keegan) clattered into the back of Paul Gascoigne and a free kick was awarded.
Luton boss Ray Harford: "An insult to a fellow professional. I thought it was out of order. It was like a red rag to a bull”.
Luton Captain Steve Foster: "You just don't do that sort of thing. If you are winning 4-0 the way to make the other team feel it is to score another”.
Kenny Wharton: "I didn't do anything wrong. I was taking the mickey a bit by sitting on the ball, but when I walked off at the end Foster tried to punch me”.
United boss Willie McFaul: "Footballers have long memories. The players got carried away a bit, but what happened last time was all coming back to them. They had faith in their own ability to play around with the ball like that, but I called a halt to it in the end”.