Dare we dream of staying up after this win? A NIGHT OF RAW EMOTION AS UNITED FIGHT FOR TOP FLIGHT SURVIVAL.

Byline: PAUL LORAINE ; CHRI ROBINSON

TOON fans celebrated one of their club's most important wins in years last night.

A packed St James's Park saw thousands of black and white flags in the stands for the relegation clash against rivals Middlesbrough.

And the Toon Army all but lifted the roofs off the stands with 90 minutes of incessant noise. Even a shock early Boro goal was not enough to dampen the atmosphere as the fans roared their heroes on to a crucial win.

Police feared there could have been violence with so much riding on the game.

But instead, there was a party atmosphere in town as the ecstatic crowd drifted out of the stadium and into town.

The man charged with making sure the event passed peacefully praised supporters.

Chief Supt Neil Mackay said: "The vast majority of fans behaved well - six arrests out of a 51,000 crowd is low. I would like to thank all the stewards involved for their assistance.

"I would also like to commend the actions of police officers who remained professional at all time despite a number of difficult situations which they managed to diffuse quickly." Fan Adam Hamed, 23, of

Hebburn, spoke for many when he expressed his relief at the result after the final whistle.

He said: "This really was a last chance game. A win means everything. It means we can go into the last two games believing we can get out of it.

"If we'd lost tonight that would have been the end." The result is a huge blow to Middlesbrough's chances of survival as they now sit 19th, three points behind Newcastle in 17th with only two games left.

Newcastle face Fulham at St James' Park on Saturday and have a trip to Villa Park on the final day of the season, while Boro have a home match against Aston Villa followed by an away match against West Ham..