Money Upbeat Despite Blades Defeat

By Craig Hope

RICHARD Money believes that his young Reserve players will benefit from coming up against experienced sides such as Sheffield United after the Blades enjoyed a 3-0 victory in the opening fixture of the Central League Cup at Whitley Park on Monday night.

The visitors included former Magpie Keith Gillespie and ex-Leeds United full-back Ian Harte in their starting line-up, the pair having amassed almost 1000 senior appearances between them during their respective careers.

And it was Northern Ireland winger Gillespie who struck twice in the opening 12 minutes to give his team a half-time lead.

David Carney - capped 15 times by Australia - then added a third in the closing stages to complete the scoring.

However, with United having handed second-string debuts to 16-year-olds Jeff Henderson, James Tavernier and Brad Inman, coach Money refused to be too downbeat when he spoke to nufcTV after the game.

"We've got to be realistic," he said.

"We had a very young team out there which was mainly made up of 16 and 17-year-olds.

"That's a good thing in that it gives them valuable experience but it's not surprising Sheff Utd have won because they had a lot of experienced players, a few with international honours.

"I was pleased with a lot of the performances, and I thought Brad Inman and James Tavernier did well when they came on in the second-half.

"We did have a go after the break but by that point we were two goals down and I think they had a little bit too much for us on the night."