Reaction to Wednesday night's Champions League Action...

Dynamo Kiev 2-0 Newcastle

Newcastle boss Sir Bobby Robson remained defiant after seeing his side launch their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 defeat in Kiev. Goals from Maksim Shatskikh and Aliaksandr Khatskevich either side of half-time were enough to hand Dynamo Kiev all three points at the Olympic Stadium on a night when their brand of breathtaking counter-attacking football was just too much for the Magpies.

Robson admitted his side had not been able to unlock a tight Ukrainian defence, but insisted they had always been in contention despite having to ride their luck at the back at times.

``We were never out-played, but we didn't make chances because we couldn't unlock the door,'' he said.

``Their defence was too good for us on the night. That's the chief reason, the main reason.

``It was obviously a tough game for us. It was difficult for us to open up their defence, which played very well.

``As a result, we didn't have too many goalscoring chances, but until the first goal, we were every bit as as good as them. The teams were very equal.

``We had quite a lot of possession and we didn't look inferior, and I was quite happy with our start, but goals change the face of the game, and the goal came very much as a surprise.

``It was a wonderful strike and suddenly, that makes a difference. The second half was basically the same.

``Where Dynamo were very clever was on the counter-attack. They defended very well and counter-attacked very quickly and caught us, which is what you see very many times in the Champions League, that a team which is defending well can counter-attack quickly and can make and take a chance.

``We've lost a big game - but they have to come to St James' now.''

United skipper Alan Shearer was left with a headache both literally and metaphorically after a first-half clash with Kiev skipper Andrii Husin left him with four stitches in his forehead with derby rivals Sunderland due at St James' Park on Saturday and Dutch side Feyenoord arriving next Tuesday for the second round of Champions League action.

``He's got four stitches and he's got a sore head,'' said Robson, who withdrew the former England striker with 11 minutes remaining.

``There's no concussion, but he's got a nasty cut right in the middle of the head.

``I then saw him take another blow in the face and I thought `That's enough for him'.''

Robson dispensed with the services of wingers Laurent Robert and Nolberto Solano as he asked Aaron Hughes to do a man-marking job on dangerman Florin Cernat and Andy Griffin filled in at right-back. The 69-year-old claimed the ploy had been a success before, with his side chasing the game, he sent on the Frenchman and his Peruvian counterpart for the final 22 minutes, but the Romanian was involved in much of his side's best work.

Kiev boss Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko was delighted with his side's performance against a Newcastle outfit who, to their credit, battled all the way to the whistle. `

`English teams when they're on the field always have only one aim, just to win, as do we,'' he said.

``We have viewed their last matches in the English championship and despite the results that they've achieved, still we saw that this team has a big potential.

``Maybe this team is not yet used to the Champions League, but the tempo that they sustained throughout the match, not every team can sustain.''

Manchester United 5-2 Maccabi Haifa

David Beckham, who captained Manchester United, was delighted by United's performance and revealed he had no hesitation in handing the ball to Forlan after winning the spot-kick because he would have been ``hated by 67,000 people'' if he had not.

He said: ``It was a very good result, but more that the result were the goals and the performance were what we needed.

``The two players up front created chances for each other and that was the important thing about tonight. We gave away a couple of sloppy goals but it shows our character is still there and we've gone on from there.''

He added: ``It was important for Diego to score, it's been so long. He works hard for the team he's had chances tonight where he could have scored but he's seen a better chance and given it to someone and that shows what type of player he is, but it's great that he's got his first goal.''

Beckham is confident they can translate tonight's performance at Old Trafford into the Premiership, where they have struggled of late, losing to Leeds only last weekend.

``It's important for us to get going. We know we've got the ability, it's just a case of getting it going. It's all about confidence, but we have scored five goals tonight and hopefully the confidence will pick up again and we can go on in the Premier League.''

Forlan added: ``I am happy to score my first goal and I am also happy because we won. It's an important match to begin the Champions League. We had to win at home, so we did. ``I am trying to do the best for the team. It's a great team with great players''.