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Watson's Delight At Toffees Triumph
Written by Newcastle Utd
Dave Watson was delighted as United's under-18s opened their 2016/17 season with a 1-0 win over Everton
By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Managing Editor
Dave Watson was delighted with his young Magpies after Newcastle United Under-18s opened their 2016/17 season with a 1-0 win over Everton.
Substitute Thomas Allan grabbed the only goal of the game at Little Benton on Saturday, turning home Lewis McNall's right-wing cross with ten minutes remaining.
But while the scoreline and timing of the winner may have suggested a close contest, Watson insists United were well worth the three points.
"Everton have had great sides over the years and they were good again on Saturday," explained the former Toffees defender, who now coaches Newcastle's under-18s.
"But our lads put in a really wholehearted performance and we just our just reward in the end.
"Their keeper made some excellent saves and we all felt we deserved the win.
"A clean sheet was great, too. Last year we conceded all kinds of goals, left, right and centre, but we looked so steady at the back against Everton. We deserved it, no doubt about it."
Watson also had praise for 16-year-old Allan, who stepped off the bench to fire United to victory.
"Tommy's a goalscorer," said the coach.
"He's someone with great pace who causes problems up front.
"We had been putting Everton under an awful lot of pressure and felt we could win the game, so we put another striker on. Fortunately for us, Tommy got a little touch that won us the game."
A win and a clean sheet was the perfect start to the season for the under-18s, who struggled for large parts of last term due to the knock-on effect of players higher up the chain heading out on loan
But Watson believes the long-term benefits could be starting to reap their rewards.
"Last season the Club had lots of players out on loan, so a number of our lads had to step up to the under-21 side," he said.
"Now, all those players are back so we've got our lads back, too, and they are a lot better off for the experience they have had at that level.
"It was great for them. They were working and playing with older players, more experienced players. Doing that, you pick things up, and since they've come back their attitude is fantastic.
"You could get one or two being a little bit sulky but they've been straight back into it, trained great and their performances against Everton were excellent as well."