Newcastle to face Real Mallorca

BULLETIN SPORTS DESK REAL Mallorca will face Newcastle in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup in a dream clash for the local side. For Newcastle, Majorca, is like home from home, chairman Freddie Shepherd owns a house here. Asked yesterday by Mallorca if they wanted any help finding a hotel, Newcastle replied: “No, thanks we know Majorca well.” Mallorca will head for Tyneside next Thursday night with the return leg a fortnight later in Palma. Enticingly for Magpies boss Sir Bobby Robson, victory could see him come up against PSV Eindhoven, the club he managed twice before returning to English football, in the quarter–finals should the Dutch get past Auxerre. “It's a satisfying draw for us,” he said. “We have missed the really big guns in Barcelona and Valencia, but make no mistake about it, it's a hard draw. “You have to respect all the teams in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup and having worked for two years in Spain, I know how tough and competitive their league is. “They have some excellent players and in Samuel Eto'o have one of the best strikers in Europe. “It's interesting to see how the rest of the draw has worked out, but as professionals, we never look beyond the next game. “We're hoping to get some of our injured players back in time for the first leg next Thursday, but regardless of that, it's sure to be another great European night on Tyneside.” Craig Bellamy joined the casualty list on Wednesday night when he suffered a hamstring injury and joined Kieron Dyer and Darren Ambrose on the sidelines, although the full extent of his problem is not yet known. Mallorca manager Luis Aragones said that he was satisfied with draw and said that Newcastle had some quality players especially Alan Shearer. Real Mallorca, who went through to the last 16, after beating Spartak Moscow 3-1 on aggregate will try and put Newcastle out of their minds until next week as they face Barcelona in the league on Sunday.