Newcastle United have drawn 0-0 with Maritimo in tonight's Europa League opener in Portugal.

The home side came close to breaking the deadlock after 10 minutes but Rob Elliot did well to save Sami's volley.

The Newcastle goalkeeper was called into action again soon after, this time dealing with David Simao's effort.

The visitors then hit the woodwork twice in as many minutes as Shola Ameobi and Dan Gosling both saw their efforts come back off the post.

With the second half just two minutes old, Ameobi hit the crossbar with a powerful drive.

The Magpies striker posed a constant threat for the Maritimo defence and had all of his hard work undone when he fired a weak effort at goalkeeper Romain Salin.

Maritimo almost snatched the victory late on but Davide Santon did well to clear the danger after Valentin Roberge's header had thundered against the crossbar.