Blossoming Toon young gun Neave is centre stage once again

U21S ACE STANDS OUT AGAINST SEASONED PROS

- By SEAN MCCORMICK

A FLAG in the Harrogate Town home end read ‘for the love not the glory’ and it felt apt on a cold, rainy night in North Yorkshire, where Newcastle's under-21s knew they could not qualify for the knockout rounds of the Vertu Trophy regardless of the result.

It was a test of the young Magpies’ motivation levels but if they are going to make careers for themselves in the senior games, itis these types of games against seasoned League Two opposition where you have to stand out above your peers.

Newcastle named a starting XI that included first-team defender Harrison Ashby, Ben Parkinson - who has a first team appearance for the Magpies under his belt - as well as Park Seung-soo and Alfie Harrison, who both featured prominently for the first team in preseason.

But, as we have come to expect at youth level, it was Sean Neave who was the standout attraction, even if he didn’t end up on the scoresheet in the young Magpies’ 3-1 defeat at Harrogate.

Picking up pockets of space all over the pitch, Neave was involved in everything positive for his side.

The 18-year-old was the one player Harrogate players were vocally concerned about, with defender Anthony O'Connor always ensuring his teammates were aware as Neave drifted into new areas of the pitch looking to make things happen.