PRACTICE made perfect for Newcastle United's youngsters when they triumphed in a penalty shoot-out against Stoke City to book their place in the Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup.

Academy Director Glenn Roeder had his squad practising spot-kicks on the eve of the clash with the Potters at Kingston Park, and he was rewarded for his planning as they boys showed great composure to win 8-7 after 120 minutes of goalless stalemate.

And special mention goes to Dutch youth international goalkeeper Tim Krul, who fired in United's eighth penalty on the evening before going back between the posts to make a brilliant save from visiting striker Jarred Stevens to secure a thrilling win and set up a trip to Sheffield Wednesday in the next round in January.

For Krul, who joined Newcastle from Den Haag in the summer, it was the first time he'd ever scored a goal in a competitive football match.

He told nufc.co.uk: "We practised penalties before the game and it paid off for us.

"There's always a chance that a cup match can go to penalties. The pressure is on you, but everyone in the team kept their cool and we got a fantastic win."

There were a few raised eyebrows when Krul put himself on the spot at such a crucial moment as the penalties reverted to a sudden death format.

But he was convinced he's hit the target, adding: "I told the coach that if anyone wasn't feeling confident then I would take one.

"It's the first time I've ever taken a penalty. I was on the list to take them for Holland at the World Championships for Peru earlier in the year, but it never came to that.

"I used to play on the left wing until I was eight. Since then I've always been in goal, so it's a long time since I've scored in any game of football.

"But after scoring a penalty it gave me extra confidence to go back in goal and save another one. All the celebrations at the end were great, and now we have another game to look forward to in the cup."

Krul made two saves in the penalty shoot-out, from Stevens and from James Curley. Of Newcastle's nine penalties taken on the night, only Michael Terrell missed out, and the substitute could consider himself very unfortunate to see his effort clip the post with Stoke keeper Aaran Ratchford having dived the opposite way.

It's a well-documented fact that Newcastle's senior players have never won a penalty shoot-out other than in friendly matches.

But Academy Director Roeder certainly seems to have the magic touch when it comes to spot-kicks, for his young squad twice won shoot-outs in the summer - against Sporting Lisbon and Borussia Moenchengladbach - to win the Oberndorf Tournament in Germany.

Speaking after the Stoke win, he told nufc.co.uk: "The penalties we took on the night are the best set I've ever seen.

"It was the right thing to practice penalties before the game because you never know what is going to happen on the night. We spent 30 minutes in training and it helped us.

"The quality of the kicks was excellent. You can watch matches in the Champions League and FA Cup and see senior players fail to score, but the way the young lads took their penalties showed their strength of character.

"Stoke were a far more experienced side than us. We had six first-years and a schoolboy in our starting line-up and we're probably the youngest side in the cup, so anything we do in this competition is a bonus this year.

"It's good experience for some of the younger lads to play at a bigger stadium and in front of a bigger crowd.. They all showed a lot of bottle to step up and take penalties and we will approach the Sheffield Wednesdsay game with confidence."