Kevin Keegan's three attackers - Obafemi Martins, Michael Owen and Mark Viduka - all found the net as the Magpies put 12 points between themselves and the Premier League's bottom three.

Martins opened the scoring with a well-taken goal, and Owen struck for the fourth consecutive game shortly before the break.

And Viduka put the game beyond Reading with a third early in the second half as 12th-placed United won by a three-goal margin for the second game in a row.

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Keegan had made one enforced change from the team which beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 at White Hart Lane the previous Sunday, with David Edgar replacing Steven Taylor in the centre of defence, with the 22-year-old having come down with a stomach bug on the eve of the game.

Royals manager Steve Coppell, meanwhile, also made one change, with Kalifa Cisse replacing the suspended Marek Matejovsky in the centre of midfield.

At St James's Park for the game was the club's London-based executive director (football) Dennis Wise, who was sat between chairman Chris Mort and former Newcastle midfielder Alan Thompson.

There were few openings in the opening quarter of an hour, but the stadium came to life in the 18th minute.

Nicky Butt played a low ball through the middle to Martins on the edge of the box, and the striker cut inside visiting centre half Andre Bikey before rolling the ball past Marcus Hahnemann with his right foot for his ninth goal of the campaign, and eight in the league.

United almost went 2-0 up five minutes later, when Michael Owen beat defender Ivar Ingimarsson to a Jose Enrique cross, only for his header to fly over Hahnemann's goal.

Goalkeeper Steve Harper made his first save in the 33rd minute, when he turned wide an effort from former Sunderland midfielder John Oster, lining up on the right wing for Reading.

In the 37th minute Owen had another good opportunity, this time from a left-wing Barton cross, but again he couldn't hit the target, much to the relief of the visitors.

A couple of minutes later Stephen Hunt sent a 25-yard free kick wide of Harper's goal, and for the most part Newcastle - beaten 2-1 at the Madejski Stadium earlier in the season in one of the low points of Sam Allardyce's short-lived managerial reign - were looking good for their lead.

And they exteneded it two minutes before the break, with it being a case of third time lucky for Owen.

He beat Hahenmann with a right-footed effort to take his tally for the season into double figures for the first time in his United career after Habib Beye played a deft ball into the box.

Both sides emerged unchanged after the interval, and four minutes into the half a clever backheel from Martins allowed Barton time and space to cross from the left, but no United player was there to take advantage when Hahnemann failed to get a hold of the midfielder's delivery.

Hahnemann, however, was soon picking the ball out of his net again.

In the 58th minute Martin took a pass from Beye on the edge of the penalty box D, and he returned the favour when Beye made a run into the area.

Beye got ahead of his man before pulled the ball back to Viduka, who had time and space to pick his spot for his seventh league goal of the campaign.

Coppell made a double change with 17 minutes left on the clock, with Shane Long and Emerse Fae making it on to the pitch.

Viduka - who had hardly trained in the run up to the game after coming off against Spurs with a tight hamstring - was replaced by Damien Duff a minute later.

Alan Smith replaced Butt in the 79th minute, and Lamine Diatta came on for his debut in place of Abdoulaye Faye seven minutes before time as Newcastle saw the game out.

Final score: NEWCASTLE UNITED 3 READING 0

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Harper; Beye, Edgar, Faye (Diatta, 83), Enrique; Geremi, Butt (Smith, 79), Barton; Owen, Viduka (Duff, 74), Martins. Subs not used: Forster, Carroll.

READING: Hahnemann; Rosenior, Bikey, Ingimarsson, Shorey; Oster (Convey, 60), Cisse (Long, 73), Harper, Hunt; Doyle, Kitson (Fae, 73). Subs not used: Federici, Duberry.

Goals: Martins 18, Owen 43, Viduka 58

Bookings: Bikey 41

Sent off: None

Referee: Lee Probert (Gloucestershire)

Attendance: 52,179

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