Newcastle United U21s coach Adam Lawrence bemoans errors in Dinamo Zagreb defeat

Newcastle United Under-21s coach Adam Lawrence bemoaned familiar failings as his side suffered a 3-0 home defeat against Dinamo Zagreb in their penultimate Premier League International Cup group stage fixture.

The Magpies were punished for sloppy defensive play by their Croatian visitors as early as the second minute as a poor pass from captain Cathal Heffernan allowed Bozhkiv Kaloyan to fire beyond United goalkeeper James Taylor from the edge of the area. The one-goal advantage was doubled on the hour-mark as Dinamo winger Sunta Sven punished another poor pass out of the back four with a neat finish and two became three with 20 minutes remain as a slack clearance from Magpies stopper Taylor led to Sven to double his personally tally for the day.

There were some slight positives for Lawrence’s side as substitute Mathios Ferreira produced their best moment of the day as his cute dink over Dinamo goalkeeper Znuderl Tai was cleared from the line by a visitors defender before the Magpies winger, who scored a hat-trick in an FA Youth Cup win against Portsmouth in midweek, saw two late shots blocked.

That was as good as it got for Lawrence and his players as they continue to search for their first International Cup win after collecting just a solitary point from meetings with Real Sociedad, Paris Saint-Germain and Dinamo. A visibly frustrated Magpies coach reflected on the errors that had led to his side’s latest defeat and insisted his players have to start learning from their mistakes.

He told The Gazette: “If you look at the way we started the game and then conceding so early in the second half, it’s takes the momentum away and gives the lads a mountain to climb. In a period when we aren’t scoring loads of goals, we have kept some clean sheets but today was a step back in terms of when we conceded and against good teams you make it too hard for yourself. They are harsh, harsh lessons from today.

“The disappointing thing was that it’s the more senior players in the team and the backbone of the team. The goalkeeper and the two centre-halves, yes it’s a team game and there are other things happening, they’ve played a big part in conceding those goals. It’s a funny one where it’s senior players but we have to learn, there’s no other way to put it.”

Newcastle United Under-21s: Taylor, Thompson, Charlton, McArthur, Heffernan, Finneran, Fitzgerald, Alabi, Brayson, Palmer, Seung-soo Subs: Harrison, Watts, Johnson, Yildiz, Miley, Ferreira, Parkinson

Dinamo Zagreb: Tai, Mislav, Patrick, Vuk, Sven, Kaloyan, Kresimir, Simun, Leon, Marko, Noa Subs: Josip, Leonardo, Tomas, Josip, Andelo, Karlo, Nikola

Your next Newcastle United read: 'Not good' - Nick Woltemade delivers brutally honest assessment as Newcastle United drop two points v Chelsea