Sterry Delighted With First Goal

By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor

Jamie Sterry scored his first Barclays Under-21 Premier League goal to earn Newcastle a share of the spoils against Blackburn on Monday night.

The 19-year-old headed home from Liam Smith's left-wing cross in the 39th minute to cancel out Anton Forrester's opener for Rovers.

And it was another milestone for the Newcastle-born youngster, who signed his first professional contract this summer having been on the bench in the top flight on two occasions towards the end of last season.

Sterry - who missed the opening second-string match of the season at Wolves through injury - was a 21st-minute replacement for the injured Adam Laidler at Whitley Park.

Recent signing Ivan Toney, in particular, was unfortunate not to score as the Magpies piled on the pressure late on, but United had to be content with a point.

"I thought we played alright," Sterry told nufc.co.uk. "We dealt with the direct ball and their style of play really well.

"There's obviously room for improvement everywhere but we played against a similar team last week in Wolves and lost. We got a draw tonight and I think we could have nicked it in the end."

An attack-minded right-back by nature, Sterry was given a more advanced role on Monday night in front of the watching Steve McClaren.

"I came on higher up the pitch, in right midfield, so it was good to get around the back post," he said. "I was pretty lucky but I got in the position, so it was good."

Sterry has been with Newcastle since the age of ten and has already had to overcome a number of injuries during his fledgling career.

But now things are looking promising for the teenager from Gosforth.

"It's been pretty tough but signing my contract not too long ago and scoring my first goal have been brilliant," he said.

"And it was my first game this season as well, which I'm really happy about."