Newcastle United 3 Darlington 0

• First pre season friendly defeat for Quakers
• Strong Newcastle team in the first half
• Seven triallists in the Darlington line ups

Quakers suffered their first defeat of pre season against a Newcastle team that fielded several well-known first teamers in the opening half.

Darlington manager Steve Watson took the opportunity to take another look at some triallists as he builds his squad for the new season, which is now just less than three weeks away.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe fielded completely different XIs in each half, handing a debut to summer signing Sean Steur in the opening 45 minutes before fellow new boy Ewen Jaouen kept goal in the second period for a team largely made up of under-21 players.

Newcastle dominated the ball, but Max Howells almost put Darlington ahead in the opening stages and was just off target. It took until the 29th minute for them to find a breakthrough against a well-organised Darlington side who had won each of their two pre-season friendlies so far, when Jacob Murphy crossed from the right and Joe Willock turned home from close range.

Six minutes later, Will Osula made it 2-0 as he converted confidently from the penalty spot after Joe Willock went down under a challenge from Ben Hedley.

The interval saw both managers ring the changes. Quakers put a triallist keeper in between the posts, as well as several others in outfield positions, with teenagers Neave and Trevan Sanusi the only Newcastle players boasting competitive first-team experience for the Magpies.

And 19-year-old Neave - who made both his Champions League and Premier League bow last term - opened his account for the new season with a low shot following a strong run midway through the second half.

Quakers though kept working hard, and overall could be pleased with their performance

Newcastle United: Nick Pope; Leo Shahar, Alex Murphy, Sven Botman, Lewis Hall; Jacob Ramsey, Joe Willock, Sean Steur; Jacob Murphy, William Osula, Harvey Barnes

Darlington first half: Bobby Jones, Ben Hedley, Toby Lees, Triallist A, Max Kilsby, Tom Platt, Paddy McLaughlin, Ellis Stanton, Max Howells, Mark Beck, Dylan Stephenson

Newcastle United second half: Ewen Jaouen; Mason Miley, Miodrag Pivaš, Luke Craggs, Dylan Charlton; Rory Finneran, Anthony Munda, Sean Neave; Trevan Sanusi, Park Seung-soo, Vakhtang Salia

Darlington second half: Triallist B, Triallist C, Triallist D, Triallist E, Max Kilsby, Paddy McLaughlin (sub Jesse Nelson 80), Triallist F, Dylan Stephenson, Triallist G, Aidan Rutledge, Max Howells

We’d like to thank Newcastle United for giving us the opportunity to play the game at their training ground, and would like to thank them for their co-operation and hospitality.

Quakers’ next game is at home to Carlisle on Tuesday night, kick off 7.45pm