Newcastle United's Under-18 side showed resilience and spirit after coming from 2-1 down to reach the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup after a fantastic 3-2 win over Charlton Athletic Under-18s at the Valley last night.
Winger Ben Parkinson put the Magpies ahead after just 14 minutes when his effort was fired into the bottom corner from inside the box before Charlton drew level just on the stroke of halftime when a thumping strike from Daniel Kanu flew past Newcastle goalkeeper Patrick Casey.
The Addicks would find the lead just six minutes after the restart however, as Casey parried away a headed chance into the path of Charlton captain Tom Bower who slotted home the rebound.
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Not all would be lost however as Parkinson found his and Newcastle's second of the match after 57 minutes before winger Johnny Emerson slotted his effort home after the ball dropped for him nicely inside the penalty area to make it 3-2.
Late chances for both sides would come and go, including Charlton hitting the woodwork with an inswinging corner, but the referee's whistle would come too soon for the hosts with the Magpies managing to reach the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup for the second straight season and will hope to replicate last year's run to the fifth round.
Before the match, Magpies Under-18s head coach Graeme Carrick highlighted how good the Youth Cup can be to have younger players get the chance to play at big stadiums in front of crowds.
"The group is in a really good place and I've been pleased with the progress made so far this season. When the Youth Cup comes around, there's an extra buzz so everyone is really looking forward to it.
"It's all part of the Youth Cup experience for the lads, especially when you get to play at a first-team ground and such a historic one. The pitch will be good which definitely adds to the experience for the team.
"These experiences are what the lads need. They need a variety of different ones throughout their journeys and this is one of the next steps for them.
"The Youth Cup is a big step. It's a competition people pay attention to and there's added pressure in playing at grounds so that's why it's such a valuable experience to try and go through and make the next step to, hopefully, first-team football."
Carrick will no doubt be delighted then that his side will get another round of experience under their belts when they play their fourth-round matchup after Christmas. Someone who wasn't as happy was Charlton Under-18s boss Danny Senda who branded his players 'naïve' after the loss.
"We were wasteful in key areas. We were naïve in the few opportunities we gave them and you only need a few opportunities. That’s a big lesson for some of our young players tonight.
“It is all well and good dominating the game but they come out winning the game."
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