By Dan King - Newcastle United Club Reporter

United's under-11s reached the final of the Plate competition at a European football festival featuring the likes of Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon, Ajax and Chelsea last weekend.

The Magpies competed in the Premier League Euro Festival at Warwick University on Saturday and Sunday but lost out to Manchester United at the last hurdle.

On the opening day, Gary Ives' youngsters lost their first game against Sporting Lisbon and were also beaten by Manchester City, but defeated Wigan before a narrow loss to Chelsea.

Those results saw them qualify for the Plate, where they opened up with a draw against Reading then a win over West Bromwich Albion in the quarter-finals.

Bolton were edged out on penalties in the semi-finals before Manchester United proved to be too strong in the final.

Coach Ives said: "It was the first tournament together for these players and it was a fantastic experience. It was really well organised by the Premier League and the standard of teams was very high.

"We got stronger as the competition went on and reaching the Plate final - and coming fourth overall - was no mean feat."