The 5-2 defeat at Craven Cottage was the result of a second half blitz from the home side, who had struggled to gain any foothold in the first 45 minutes as Newcastle dominated.
Still Alan Pardew's side only managed to score one goal in their first half of superiority, and they payed the price as they collapsed defensively after Fulham were awarded a questionable penalty which Danny Murphy duly converted.
A further three Fulham goals - including another penalty, this time converted by Bobby Zamora - in a rampant twelve minute spell put the game beyond doubt. Hatem Ben Arfa added to Danny Guthrie's magnificent first half effort with a fine goal of his own to add a little more respectability to the scoreline.
However, their was still time for the Cottagers to have the last laugh as American midfielder Clint Dempsey - who, along with Andrew Johnson, had tormented the Newcastle defence for the entire second half - rounded off his hat-rick to put the gloss on a wonderful afternoon for Fulham, but a disastrous one for the Magpies.
It was by far Newcastle's worst performance of this campaign. The midfield, minus the calming influence of Cheick Tiote, was overrun and the defence failed to handle the pace and guile of Johnson and Dempsey.
Still, while Newcastle missed the chance to close the gap on Chelsea in 4th, defeats for both Arsenal and Liverpool negated the impact of the defeat to an extent.
Pardew's men still sit sixth in the Barclays Premier League table, and will be buoyed by the return of Ba and new signing Papiss Cisse, who will fly home on Monday after Senegal were eliminated from the African Cup of Nations following a 2-1 defeat to Equatorial Guinea.
Ba and Cisse will both naturally be disappointed to have been knocked out of the competition in the Group Stage, and it would be wrong of Newcastle fans to revel in one nation's sorrow. However, their return is a massive boost to a side whose other strikers have struggled for consistency.
The Senegalese pair may be available for Newcastle's clash with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Wednesday.
Before that though there is the small matter of an FA Cup 4th Round tie at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday evening.
Pardew has rightly declared his intentions to play his strongest side at the Amex Stadium, as they face a Brighton side that has rapidly improved under former Chelsea star Gustavo Poyet.
As it stands Newcastle's current league position would be enough to guarantee them European Football next season, however this could change depending on who is victorious in each of the domestic Cup Finals.
Therefore the FA Cup is undoubtedly a trophy that Pardew and his charges should be looking to win, as triumph in the competition would hand the club it's first major silverware and guarantee the place in the Europa League that Newcastle have identified as their aim.
Manchester City are already out of the cup, and one of Manchester United and Liverpool will soon join them. The door is open for a team outside the top four to be successful in the competition, and with two of the hottest striking talents in European football on their books, Newcastle will believe they are capable of advancing all the way to the Final.
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