Newcastle United Under-21s wasted a two-goal lead in their 2-2 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion on Friday night.
Robbie Stockdale believes Newcastle United Under-21s have shown signs of progress in recent weeks after they made it just one defeat in their last five games with a home draw against Brighton and Hove Albion.
The former Middlesbrough defender remains in interim charge of the United youngsters following the departure of Adam Lawrence last month and appears to be drawing an improvement out of his squad. There was some disappointment from the draw with the Seagulls after a Sean Neave double was cancelled out by second-half goals from visitors duo Nehemiah Oriola and Joe Belmont. That frustration was only heightened by the fact Albion were reduced to ten men when defender Charlie Penman for a challenge on Neave that allowed the Magpies striker to open his tally for the night from the penalty spot.
Newcastle United Under-21s interim coach Robbie Stockdaleplaceholder image
Newcastle United Under-21s interim coach Robbie Stockdale | Getty Images
One positive to take from the draw is that Stockdale’s side have lost just one of their five Premier League 2 fixtures under their interim boss and that came with a last-gasp defeat at Arsenal when a 96th minute penalty from Andre Harriman-Annous helped the Gunners secure the points against Magpies side reduced to ten men with ten minutes remaining. Stockdale reflected on the improvement in results and performances over his interim reign and insisted there are a ‘lot of positives’ to take from recent weeks.
He told The Gazette: “From where we were maybe six or seven weeks ago to where we are now, I think there have been a lot of positives and steps forward with how we have been playing and the work we have done with them. That’s 21s football and it’s a constant revolving door of who is available to play. Obviously, after the January window your team looks completely different to what started the season. We put demands on the players, we put demands on them. The 21s is a bridging gap to the senior team, hopefully ours, if not then somebody else’s. I’ve got vast experiences of what that looks like, the physicality and the mentality the players have to show. So I think we are getting there. There were some really good performances tonight.”
Opportunity
placeholder image
Getty Images
First-team prospect Neave took his Under-21s goal tally to 12 for the season with a quickfire double in the latter stages of the first-half and showed why there is so much excitement over his prospects of becoming a regular member of Eddie Howe’s senior ranks over the coming years. Although the youngster featured as a number nine in Friday’s draw, Neave has shown an ability to play in a number ten role and on the wing throughout the season - and Stockdale believes that versatility can provide more opportunities at first-team level.
He said: “I think it would be good for Sean to have two or three roles because as a young players it’s opportunities to play. At senior level, as a number nine, it’s not easy for a young forward, so maybe playing off the side or off a number nine would be great for him. With us, we played him down the middle today, we played him as a ten, and he’s effective at our level in either. I don’t think you need to pigeon hole him in an actual position, I think he would much prefer to do two or three that give him more opportunity to play in the first team.”
Newcastle United U21s: Harris, M.Miley, Watts (Moran), Pivas, Thompson, Finneran, Fitzgerald, Bailey (Mills), Neave, Munda, Seung-soo (Palmer) Subs: Harrison, Yildiz
Brighton and Hove Albion U21s: Hall, Barclay, Penman, Mills (Robertson), Tasker, Mackley (Silsby), Nti, Keogh, Oriola, Belmont (Brett), West (Middleton) Sub: Jensen.
Continue Reading