Watson: "We Switched Off"

By Dominic Scurr

Under-18s coach Dave Watson was pleased to see his Newcastle United side grab a "respectable" 2-2 draw at Derby County but felt they "switched off" at key moments in the game.

United keeper Ben Smith gifted the Rams the lead in the first half after spilling Luke Thomas' effort, but the visitors managed to turn things around after half-time as Dan Lowther and Thomas Allen put them 2-1 ahead.

But another lapse in concentration saw County reply straight from kick-off as Lewis Walker broke through the Magpies' defence to make it 2-2.

And while there were plenty of positives to take, Watson hopes to see his youngsters learn from these sort of games.

"We need to remain focused for 90 minutes," he told nufc.co.uk.

"There were key moments in the game where we just switched off. When we went 2-1 ahead in the second half you'd think we would keep it tight and try to see it out but we didn't manage that at all.

"Straight after we scored, they went down the other end and equalised almost instantly. It's moments like that where we just need to learn when to manage the game better once we've taken the lead.

"The first goal really soft as well where our keeper has knocked it over the line but credit to him, he recovered well after that.

"The first half was a bit of a battle, it was very scrappy. Thankfully we livened up in the second half and did well. We scored a couple of good goals and could have gone on to win the game.

"We conceded two soft goals but there wasn't really much between the sides. It was frustrating but it was an evenly-matched game so a draw was probably a fair result."

Watson was also keen to point out some of the key performers from his side, which featured five under-16 players in the squad - including full-back Lewis Gibson.

"Lewis has came in and done a really good job for us so far," continued Watson.

"He's been away with the under-21s, as has Ben Pollock and Owen Bailey, so they've had a busy week, but they all came in and did a good job today.

"(Lewis) has settled really well, he's got a good personality and he's up to it physically. He's one of the youngest in the under-16 age group and he's at the bottom of the ladder but he's been starting to climb it these past few weeks and he's been doing great.

"Dan Lowther and Kieren Aplin also stood out today - I'd say they were the pick of the bunch from our perspective. It's good to see that players that haven't played that many games for us are now making an impact.

"Overall, looking at the result and considering we had quite a few under-16s in the squad - I'd say it's a respectable point for us away from home."