Gordon channels Shearer after breaking his record

Anthony Gordon had already scored a hat-trick.

But the ruthless Newcastle United forward only had one thought in his mind at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium.

Gordon had just won his side a penalty against Qarabag in the first leg of their last 16 Champions League play-off tie, and he was not about to hand the ball over after Kieran Trippier felt Nick Woltemade should get a chance to take the spot-kick.

It brought back one or two memories of the single-mindedness of Newcastle's greatest ever goalscorer, Alan Shearer.

In fact, after already netting four goals against Sheffield Wednesday, in 1999, Shearer told striker Paul Robinson where to go after his team-mate asked him if he could take a spot-kick.

So it was rather fitting that this was a night where Gordon overtook the Newcastle legend as the club's all-time top scorer in the Champions League with 10 goals.

"We should be in it together," Gordon told TNT Sports after netting four goals in his side's 6-1 victory.

"But I'm an attacker. I'm the penalty taker, so I want to score as many goals as I possibly can."

Qarabag, in truth, played right into Gordon's hands.

This side had previously drawn against Chelsea and defeated Benfica, Eintracht Frankfurt and Copenhagen.

But the sight of the rapid Gordon playing further forward than Woltemade appeared to catch Qarabag a little cold.

By the time they finally readjusted, and dropped deeper in the second half, the damage had been done, as Match of the Day pundit Thomas Hitzlsperger noted.

"I have to say I was surprised by how high Qarabag defended, and how they kept a high line in the first half when the Newcastle goals were going in," he said.

"I was thinking, 'are they not watching Newcastle and their recent games?' Because why did they allow so much space for Gordon, who was brilliant all evening?"

Gordon has impressed in such a role away from home in recent weeks - opening the scoring at Anfield last month and setting up Jacob Ramsey's winner against Spurs last week.

He gives Eddie Howe's side something different through the middle with his movement and pace, and the Azerbaijan Premier League champions could not cope.

"I think he's been really good in that position," Howe said. "Looking back to the Liverpool game, where I thought he was excellent, he scores.

"He's shown he wants to play there and then he's got the quality to play there. His pressing today was incredible for us. That gave us the platform to rebuild off of his work.

"Of course he's taken the four goals and will get the headlines, naturally, but his all-round game was really strong."

Gordon's first goal set the tone for Newcastle.

It only took the rapid forward two minutes to open the scoring after he beat the offside trap to latch on to Dan Burn's through ball before coolly picking out the bottom corner.

Having scored his second from the spot, to make it 3-0, Gordon's speed caused Qarabag problems once again from the restart just seconds later when he pounced on some slack play from defender Kevin Medina and rounded Mateusz Kochalski to score his hat-trick.

On a night Gordon spurned one or two opportunities from open play, there was no chance of him letting go of the ball when he won his side another spot-kick before the break.

Gordon stepped up and dispatched a second powerful penalty past goalkeeper Kochalski.

It was a night he smashed a number of records, including becoming the only Englishman to score three or more goals in a knockout stage game in the Champions League.

No wonder Gordon did not want to come off midway through the second half, as the watching Pat Nevin observed.

"He is actually gutted," he said on BBC Radio 5 Live. "Any striker would feel exactly the same. You know it's the right thing.

"You don't want to get injured. You know you need to rest, there's big games coming up. But you also know there's goals. He's taken it well, though."

Gordon left the field to the sound of his name being chanted by those delirious Newcastle supporters in the away end.

The travelling support embarked on a gruelling 2,500-mile trip to be there - the longest any English fan base had ever travelled in the Champions League.

You suspect it was worth it as they repeatedly sang about not wanting to go home in the closing stages.

What a difference 10 days make.

A crestfallen Howe admitted he was not doing his job "well enough" after his side were booed off following a bruising defeat against Brentford at St James' Park earlier this month.

It led to a brief period of soul searching and one or two home truths behind the scenes, and Newcastle have responded.

A side who once suffered with travel sickness have now defeated Qarabag, Aston Villa and Spurs on the road in little more than a week.

"I'm so proud of everyone because football is a highly emotional place sometimes and it's very fickle," Gordon added.

"People get so down and so up on you depending on your form. To go through what we went through to the position we're in now is really important and shows the character we have.

"Football does change fast so we have to keep it going, keep the momentum, because it can go the other way just as fast."