Newcastle United’s Under-21s were in action on Friday as they took on Manchester United Under-21s at The Progress With Unity Stadium.
This one could have been seen as a bit of a grudge match for the young Geordies as they’d come up against their old boss, Adam Lawrence, in the opposition dugout.
Lawrence handed in his notice at Newcastle in January to return to Manchester United just four months after leaving the Old Trafford club. Lawrence left Man United as their Under-18s Lead Coach to be Newcastle’s Under-21s Lead Coach, before returning to Manchester in the same capacity.
Since Lawrence left and Robbie Stockdale took over, Newcastle’s youths have managed some impressive results, and last night they racked up another one in a 3-1 win in Manchester.
It took just eight minutes for the Magpies to race into a two-goal lead.
Matheos Ferreira scored his fourth goal in as many league games to open the scoring, and Sean Neave then added a second with a sublime lob over the Man United keeper.
🚨 – OH MY WORD THAT IS ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHING FROM SEAN NEAVE, IT’S 2-0 TO #NUFC U21s AFTER JUST EIGHT MINUTES!!! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/xra6gQQnGN
— Magpie Media (@MagpieMediaX) April 10, 2026
The hosts got one back after the break, but Newcastle held firm and defended their one-goal lead before restoring the two-goal deficit in second-half stoppage time via Anthony Munda.
Sean Neave has been knocking on the door of the first team for a while and was even handed his debut this season in the Champions League clash with FK Qarabag. His inch-perfect lobbed goal on Friday night certainly won’t have hurt his chances of being called upon again by Eddie Howe.
Meanwhile, that win for the Under 21s guarantees them a place in the Professional Development League (PDL) play-off. This gives the Under-21s a chance to add some silverware to the cabinet, along with the Under-15s recent haul.
Now let’s see if the first team can finish the season strong, too, starting with Palace away on Sunday!