Newcastle United U21s snatched a dramatic late point as they bowed out of the Premier League Cup with a home draw to Bristol City. Seb Palmer-Holden's penalty looked to have the Robins on course for victory, only for Amadou Diallo to equalise in added time with a stunning curled effort.
Ben Dawson named five changes from the team who suffered a heavy away defeat at Southampton in their most recent outing. Matt Bondswell, Kyle Crossley, Lewis Miley, Michael Ndiweni, and Charlie Wiggett all came into the side with captain Alex Murphy and Jay Turner-Cooke among those to miss out.
The young Magpies controlled much of the contest, but struggled to create chances throughout and looked on course for another defeat when Palmer-Holden scored in the 74th minute. City were then reduced to 10 men when Dylan Kadji was dismissed for a late challenge of Nathan Carlyon, and this numerical advantage was made to count in injury time.
Here are three things we learned from Newcastle U21s 1-1 draw with the Robins at Whitley Park on Wednesday afternoon.
READ MORE: Newcastle United U21s vs Bristol City U21s highlights
Forgotten signing returns
It has been a long time since Rodrigo Vilca featured on a teamsheet on Tyneside. The Peruvian prospect has recently returned from a loan spell in his homeland with Universitario, and still has more than a year to run on his Magpies contract.
Vilca has so far failed to make an impact in black-and-white since his arrival in October 2020, and a stint at Doncaster Rovers was cut short at the playmaker's own request. The 23-year-old was introduced just after the hour-mark, and showed a few clever touches as the Magpies managed to snatch a point at the death.
Given his age and struggles so far, it seems highly unlikely that the former Deportivo Municipal starlet will be offered a contract extension as it stands. With less than a week to go until the transfer deadline, Newcastle could have to decide whether to secure another loan or include the attacking midfielder in the academy setup for the remainder of the campaign.
Sunderland revenge mission
Wednesday's contest may have been a dead-rubber tie in terms of the Premier League Cup, with the Robins all but guaranteed top spot in Group E and the Magpies already knocked out. However, the second rearrangement of the match provided ideal preparation despite the result ahead of the Wear-Tyne derby next week.
Newcastle travel to the Academy of Light to face their Sunderland counterparts on Monday afternoon, with the sides playing out a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at St James' Park. Joe White's first-half goal looked to have the hosts on course for victory, only for goalkeeper Alex Bass to score a controversial injury-time equaliser via a handball.
The so-called 'Hand of Cod' did not stop the young Magpies extending their unbeaten Premier League 2 run to six matches. However, the draw was followed by a six-match losing run which saw Newcastle exit both the Premier League Cup and the Northumberland Senior Cup.
A clash with Sunderland never needs any extra motivation for those in black-and-white. Yet the ending of the last encounter and the turning point it seems to have played in Newcastle's season means this latest encounter should have a little extra spice.
Familiar failings
The young Magpies were just minutes away from slipping to a second successive home defeat without scoring. Diallo's fine late effort was the least the hosts deserved from a dominant display which unfortunately lacked a cutting edge.
Newcastle started slow, but following the restart dominated the contest without fashioning any real openings. Dawson's side were then made to pay when a failure to clear the ball led to Nathan Carlyon giving away a cheap penalty, and Palmer-Holden made no mistake from the spot.
The young Magpies were staring down the barrel of a fifth defeat in six Premier League Cup matches, and the numerical advantange led to an attack versus defence exercise in the final minutes. Mac Boyd made a couple of late stops, but looked set to bank a clean sheet until Diallo found space and whipped an effort from distance into the far corner.
Newcastle did not deserve to lose, but a pattern of struggling to create chances and conceding cheap goals is not a recipe for success. There is plenty of positives to take from this performance, but Dawson's side need to sharpen up in both final thirds.
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