Freddie's Praise For Fan-Tastic Support

By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Managing Editor

Freddie Woodman paid tribute to the near-12,000 fans who turned up for Newcastle United's FA Youth Cup quarter-final on Monday - claiming it would have been a much tougher night without their backing.

The Magpies took Chelsea all the way to extra-time, eventually losing 3-0 to the star-studded holders, for who Isaiah Brown, Dominic Solanke and Tammy Abraham netted.

With free attendance at St. James' Park, a staggering 11,664 supporters came through the gates to watch the next generation of United stars and will have gone away impressed at a resolute and committed display in which they also created chances to spring a surprise.

And while 17-year-old Woodman has had plenty of first team squad experience this season without making an appearance, he relished playing in front of such a big - and noisy - crowd.

"Is that how many there was? That's amazing," he told nufc.co.uk after being informed of the gate.

"When we went out for the warm-up there was quite a few and then stepping back out of the tunnel at the start the whole of that stand was full.

"It shows how good the support here in Newcastle is. I said in the huddle before the match that we had to go out and impress the fans and I think we did that.

"They will have seen that we gave it everything and it helps when you've got them urging you on. Every tackle, every save and every shot gets cheered and that really helped us.

"I don't think we would have gone 120 minutes without the fans, and we can't thank them enough for coming out to watch us."

He continued: "It was hard going into extra-time, knowing we had given it absolutely everything.

"In the changing room everyone was disappointed and we felt like we could have nicked something in normal time. We had chances to win it.

"But we should be proud of what we did out there - it was a great team effort against a very strong Chelsea team.

"A 3-0 defeat is hard to take right now but we have to take something from it. There are positives to take, and we will move on and learn."

Woodman was outstanding throughout at St. James' Park and got the evening off to a perfect start when he kept out Brown's fifth-minute penalty.

The England Under-19 star revealed he played some mind games with his national team pal before spot-kick, and has tipped Brown and Co to go on and successfullty defend their FA Youth Cup crown.

"I know Izzy quite well from when we go away with England and we always joke around, taking penalties in training," explained Woodman.

"I had an idea of what he was going to do and told him that if he went to my right, I would be waiting for him. He chose to go the other way but I was waiting there as well.

"There were a few other saves then which were nice for a goalkeeper as well, so on a personal level it was a decent night for me, apart from the result.

"There's no shame in losing to this Chelsea team. They beat us last year at this stage and went on to win it, and I think they will do that again.

"They've got some really good players and are a really good team who are hard to break down and keep you penned in.

"There's no reason why they can't go all the way again."