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Damage Was Done By Half Time, Admits Freddie
Written by Newcastle Utd
Freddie Woodman said that the "damage was done" by half time of Newcastle United Under-23s' 3-1 defeat to West Ham
By Tom Easterby - Newcastle United Club Reporter
Goalkeeper Freddie Woodman said that the "damage was done" by half time of Newcastle United Under-23s' 3-1 defeat to West Ham United on Monday night.
The Magpies went in 2-0 down at the break after a penalty from Antonio Martinez and a strike from Marcus Browne gave the Hammers the advantage.
Martinez's second after half time put the result beyond doubt and, while substitute Tom Heardman pulled one back inside the last ten minutes, it wasn't enough.
And 19-year-old Woodman, who captained the side in the capital, admitted that Newcastle were far from at their best in the first half - and said that they paid the price for their slow start to the game at Dagenham and Redbridge's Chigwell Construction Stadium.
"It's not nice to come away from home and concede three goals. We weren't great in the first half - I thought we were poor," he told nufc.co.uk.
"We made a few mistakes and we weren't at the races, to be honest. We had a go in the second half, but when you have a first half like that you need something special to come back and win the game.
"The damage was done in the first half, and the boys are disappointed with the performance. We should have done a lot better.
"In the first half we were sloppy and we gave away possession pretty easily. The penalty - I'm not sure, it was debatable, but (the referee) gave it and from there, we didn't string a few passes together and we were just sloppy all over the pitch."
After the break, however, Peter Beardsley's youngsters did begin to apply some pressure, though they were unable to make a breakthrough before Heardman's late strike.
And teenager Woodman believes United must learn from their errors against Terry Westley's side going forward - and not allow next week's opponents, Aston Villa, to benefit by starting the game in sloppy fashion.
"There's always positives to take from games - we had a go second half, we penned them in and we could have scored a few goals, but I didn't fall right for us," he said. " But I think we've got to look at ourselves in the first half, and it cost us in the end.
"We have to start the game quicker, because a lot of goals are scored in the first half and a lot of games are won in the first half - like we did at Norwich (in the 3-0 win) last week. It's difficult to come away and concede three, and we've got to be better."