Goals from Daniel Lema, Jorge Intima, Denziel Boadu, Kean Bryan, Brandon Barker and Thierry Ambrose secured the victory for Jason Wilcox’s youngsters, who outclassed and outplayed the hosts to the point where the Magpies were often chasing shadows.
Last time out, the Sky Blues netted six past Bristol City but that was only a friendly – this one was serious business. Without a win in their previous four league games, City knew that they had to come away from Newcastle with at least a point and they got off to a flyer with a goal after just eight minutes.
Bryan found space in the centre, before feeding Barker – fresh from international duty with England’s under-18s – down the left. The winger burst forward before squaring for Lema, who poked the ball home from close range.
Seven minutes later, City should have doubled their lead when Boadu sent Lema through on goal. With only the goalkeeper to beat, there looked to be only one result but Jonathan Mitchell somehow deflected the ball wide.
City’s exquisite through-balls caused the home side problems all afternoon, and the Sky Blues carved open the Newcastle defence once more on the half-hour mark. Lema fed Intima who raced through but he couldn’t apply the finish as his effort hit the post before it was eventually cleared.
City did finally net the second goal just before the break. Intima again found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper and this time he made no mistake, to give the Sky Blues a two-goal cushion.
After the restart, City continued where they left off and suddenly they were rampant, scoring three goals in the opening five minutes.
Boadu and Bryan added the third and fourth respectively with a rebound each, before Barker – at the heart of most attacks throughout the game – skipped through the Newcastle defence and unleashed a shot into the bottom corner.
It was an unbelievable start to the second half which had many spectators wondering whether or not the Sky Blues would go on to reach double figures. As it were, City eased off slightly from then on and were content to play ‘keep-ball’ for long periods.
They did add to their tally though on 77 minutes as substitute Ambrose completed the scoring, finishing well into the bottom corner to round off a perfect day for Wilcox’s men.
Next up, the young Sky Blues face Arsenal at Platt Lane on 26 October.
