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Cape Town - Newcastle United thrashed Sydney FC 4-0 in Dunedin on Tuesday in a win the club dedicated to two fans who died in the Malaysia Airlines MH17 disaster.
Before the pre-season tour match, manager Alan Pardew and captain Fabricio Coloccini joined supporters in the stands of Forsyth Barr Stadium and laid wreaths on the seats allocated to Liam Sweeney and John Alder.
The Britons were en route to New Zealand for the tour when their flight was apparently shot down by pro-Russian rebels over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 on board.
Both teams wore black armbands for the match and the crowd, some carrying banners honouring Sweeney and Alder, observed a minute's silence before kick-off.
Newcastle went into the fixture vowing to put on a show in memory of their fans and were as good as their word, leading 3-0 at half time.
New signings Emmanuel Riviere and Siem de Jong combined to open the scoring after 19 minutes, Riviere pouncing on a mis-hit clearance from Sydney keeper Ivan Necevski to set up de Jong's goal.
Riviere, a new arrival from Monaco, then fired home from close range in the 26th minute to make it 2-0.
Defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa added another when he unleashed a thundering shot from just outside the penalty area which took a deflection as it headed into the bottom right corner.
Sydney had their chances after the break could not capitalise and their defence was left standing by a weaving run from Adam Armstrong on 82 minutes to complete the rout.
Newcastle will play another A-League side, Wellington Phoenix, on Saturday, with English Premier League rivals West Ham also scheduled to play Sydney and Wellington as part of the tournament.
