Newcastle United defender reflects on 'ridiculous' game

Newcastle United are, potentially, just a win away from Premier League safety.
Ben Dawson.Ben Dawson.
Ben Dawson.

This season, again, has been about top-flight survival for Rafa Bentiez’s side.

Yet it’s been a very different campaign for Ben Dawson’s Under-23 team, who are in a cup semi-final and also pushing for promotion.

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United are third in Premier League 2 Division Two – and two points behind league leaders Southampton – with two games left to play after Monday night’s eventful 3-2 win over Stoke City.

Captain Owen Bailey netted twice after missing a first-half penalty as Newcastle came from behind at the Bet365 Stadium.

“It was a ridiculous game, and it sums up what football is all about,” said the defender.

“At half-time, I’ve probably never been as low for a long time. The lads were the same, as we weren’t playing our normal stuff.

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“Missing a penalty affected me, and we were a bit lost after going two goals down at half-time. The way the lads have responded in the second half was unbelievable. It’s a massive result.

“Promotion has been something that we’ve been aspiring for in recent seasons, and a win to secure a play-off spot is a massive step towards that.

“Hopefully, we can continue that and try to go up.”

United secured a promotion play-off place with their win over Stoke, though Dawson, the club’s Under-21 coach, wants his team to push for the title.

“There’s a little bit of pressure off us now in the league, but like every game we play in, we’re playing to win it,” Dawson told nufc.co.uk.

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“We weren’t playing to sit back and take a draw against Stoke knowing we would qualify for the play-offs.

“At 2-2, we were pushing another goal, and after scoring, we were still going for a fourth.”

Meanwhile, Bailey and his team-mates will take on Leeds United in a Premier League Cup semi-final at Guiseley on April 23 (7pm kick-off).