Michael Owen calmly slotted home an extra-time winner as Newcastle finally disposed of Coventry in a pulsating Carling Cup tie.
Other than Owen, no-one of a Newcastle persuasion, player, coach, owner or fan, would have taken even a perverse pleasure from Scott Dann's stoppage-time leveller to send the game into extra-time.
But for Owen, introduced as a substitute near the end, it represented another 30 minutes fitness and, more importantly, another opportunity to score.
And the England forward duly obliged, speeding past a static Coventry defence and chipping Andy Marshall to give the Magpies a victory early efforts from Charles N'Zogbia and James Milner should have given them without the extra effort.
Given his key talks with owner Mike Ashley tomorrow that should plot a way forward for the Tyneside giants, Keegan might have seen positives and negatives in the way his team performed for the vast majority of the contest.
The two goals they did score could easily have been doubled without much effort. And this from a team without a recognised striker.
Yet pleased as Keegan must have been with the performance of his side, it overshadowed some basic home truths.
Against Coventry, a limited side for all their hustle and bustle, the Magpies looked good.
Against teams from the top half of the Barclays Premier League they will struggle.
The carnage at the end of each half merely exposed such shortcomings and the damage could really have been bad if extra-time had brought more Sky Blues joy rather than a string of agonising near misses.
Keegan has made no secret of the fact he is looking for at least one more defender, a midfielder and a striker before the transfer window closes next Monday.
Yet for all the talk of signings, there is as much speculation about those who may leave.
James Milner figures high on that list, with Aston Villa keen to tie up a deal for the England Under-21 international.
On this form though, Newcastle could do with him.
A constant thorn in Coventry's side it was hardly a surprise Milner should play a major role in both Newcastle's goals.
The first came as a result of Milner's burst of pace down the left, which caught Coventry napping, allowing the former Leeds man to send a low cross towards the near post which Charles N'Zogbia, without a goal since last September, to squeeze home.
Milner scored the second himself, although it was hardly one of his finest as Marshall's hesitation allowed the cross-shot to skip through the Coventry defence and into the far corner.
Badly outclassed, Coventry looked ripe for a hammering.
But a couple of outstanding interventions from Dann, the second of which left Milner with his head in his hands, kept Newcastle in reach.
And when Jay Tabb failed to collect Clinton Morrison's square pass, the ball bounced back to the Republic of Ireland hit-man, whose well-struck shot hit the net just as the stadium announcer was confirming one additional minute to be added on.
If Marshall was at fault for the visitors second, he redeemed himself immediately after the restart with a fine block to deny Milner before Danny Guthrie fired wildly over.
The former Bolton man thought his next effort was going in before it cannoned wide off Marcus Hall midway through the second period, Newcastle again dominant even though their lead was precarious.
Owen's introduction for Geremi eventually came 15 minutes from time in a bid to quell the head of steam Coventry were starting to build up.
The move appeared to have worked.
But Newcastle could not survive one more bomb from Aron Gunnarsson, whose long throws had been a problem all night.
And with the contest deep in injury time, Dann leapt highest to power the tie into an extra half hour. Little did the defender know it but he was playing right into Owen's hands.
Coventry came desperately close at the end through Robbie Simpson before Elliott Ward's header crashed back off the bar, kept trying until the end.
But Owen was the matchwinner, in an instant proving his worth to England, even if problems for club and country go far deeper.
Teams
Coventry Marshall, Hall, Ward, Dann, Fox, Beuzelin (Doyle 63),Mifsud, Gunnarsson, Tabb (Simpson 88), McKenzie (Gray 74),Morrison.
Subs Not Used: Ireland, Turner, Thornton, Clarke.
Booked: Hall, Fox.
Goals: Morrison 45, Dann 90.
Newcastle Given, Beye, Coloccini, Bassong, Jose Enrique,Milner, Geremi (Owen 75), Butt, Guthrie, N'Zogbia, Gutierrez.
Subs Not Used: Harper, Taylor, Edgar, Tozer, Donaldson, Ranger.
Goals: Dann 21 og, Milner 38, Owen 97.
After Extra Time
Att: 19,249
Ref: Tony Bates (Staffordshire).
