Robbie Stockdale hails Newcastle United U21s as Rotherham win seals long-awaited EFL Trophy progress
Newcastle United Under-21s progressed into the knockout rounds of the EFL Trophy with a win at Rotherham United on Tuesday night.
Newcastle United Under-21s lead coach Robbie Stockdale believes his young side ‘ticked all of the boxes’ as they beat Rotherham United 1-0 in the EFL Trophy.
The young Magpies travelled to AESSEAL New York Stadium knowing they would progress beyond the group stages for the first time in eight seasons if they could avoid a defeat against a home side that are sitting just above the relegation zone in League Two.
Stockdale named the likes of Mason Miley, Matheos Ferreira and Vakhtang Salia in his starting eleven - but it was summer signing Kyran Thompson that made the difference as the former Arsenal youngster bagged the only goal of the game to ensure the United prospects made it five wins in a row in all competitions and secured progress into the knockout rounds.
After impressing on the ball during a win at York City and a defeat against Bradford City earlier in the competition, Stockdale hailed a different type of performance from his young players and insisted their development will be aided by having to face a physical home side.
He told the club website: “Firstly, I love this competition, I love the National League Cup for our players. It gives them a feeling of how that next step could look like for them. My overriding feeling is that I am just really pleased for the players, I’m pleased for the lads, they’ve put a lot of effort in. When the draw came out and I saw the group we were in, I thought, that’s a test. We played York, played really well with the ball, they were top of League Two at the time. We played really well at Bradford with the ball, they were top of League One at the time, narrowly got beat.
“Tonight, we played against a really strong and physical Rotherham team and it had to look a little bit different. We had to look really organised, really solid. Our young players had to play like senior pros, like men, head the ball, challenge, win duels and across the board, we ticked all of the boxes. It looked different to the other games but that is part of the development. You have to play the game in front of you and it won’t always be pretty and I think they’ll be better for the experience.”
‘He’s desperate to get better’
Stockdale also offered praise to match-winner Thompson after he landed the decisive blow to send his side into the next round of the competition - but insisted there was still work to do with the young 17-year-old winger.
He said: “Kyran is still a work-in-progress. It’s the out-of-possession stuff we are are really driving home with him and he’s taking it on board. He’s a great kid, he’s desperate to learn, desperate to get better and he is at a high level anyway - but if we can tidy up those bits without the ball, when to press, when to win a duel, that will only stand him in good stead.”