Newcastle United U21s were beaten on home turf by Aston Villa in their return to Premier League 2 action. Goals from Josh Feeney and Declan Frith either side of the break condemned the hosts to a 2-0 defeat at Whitley Park on Monday night.
It was the young Magpies first match since the departure of former boss Elliott Dickman, with Ben Dawson assuming interim charge. The hosts were also without a host of regular starters, with captain Alex Murphy, Jude Smith, Jay Turner-Cooke and wonderkid Lewis Miley among those absent.
The hosts made a bright start, but found themselves under pressure once Feeney curled the visitors ahead. Frith then pounced on a poor backpass shortly after the restart to double the advantage, and here are three things we learned from Newcastle U21s defeat to Villa.
