On this day in 1898, Newcastle United sealed promotion to the First Division after beating Blackburn Rovers 4-0 in a ‘Test Match’. The Magpies locked horns with Rovers for only the second time in their history, losing their first meeting 4-3 but gaining their revenge 48 hours later.
Frank Watt started Charles Watts, William Lindsay, James Jackson, Thomas Ghee, John Ostler, James Stott, John Harvey, Andy Aitken, Johnny Campbell, Bill Smith and Willie Wardrope at St James Park. Goals from Campbell, Harvey, Ghee and Jackson put Blackburn to the sword in front of 10,000.
Newcastle finished 13th in the First Division with 30 points from 34 games in 1889/99 while Blackburn finished seven places and six points better off. The Magpies and Rovers both shared a win from their two league meetings that season, so they had two wins and two defeats from their first four head-to-heads.
Watt would stay in charge of the Toon Army until 1929, winning four First Division titles, three Northern Division titles and two FA Cups.
