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Satka Stars For Slovakia
Written by Newcastle Utd
Young defender Lubo Satka speaks after playing for his country's under-18 side in a tournament staged in the Czech Republic this week
By Dan King - Newcastle United Club Reporter
Fresh from making his Reserve bow for Newcastle against Tottenham last weekend, Slovakian teenager Lubo Satka has won two caps for his country at under-18 level this week.
The 16-year-old defender, who joined the Magpies from Dubnica last summer, was called up for the Memoriál Václava Ježka Tournament in the Czech Republic.
And he helped them to win their opening game against Ukraine on Wednesday before a 1-0 defeat to Hungary on Thursday, with the Ilava-born centre-back playing 90 minutes in both matches.
"Against Ukraine it was a good match," said the first-year Academy scholar who impressed while playing for the Reserves in pre-season, including the successful trip to Hong Kong in May.
"We'd seen their match against Hungary the day before so we knew what to expect. In the first 20 minutes we were the better team but after that they had a couple of chances. The second half was level but then we scored in the last ten minutes."
And on the loss to Hungary, he explained: "The first half wasn't good from us.
"We conceded an easy goal on seven minutes and then we couldn't find our game. At the half-time break the coach shouted at us and the second half was much better. We had four or five good chances to score but we were unlucky. I had one header in a good position and really should have scored."
Satka added that he was grateful to Newcastle for allowing him to play in the tournament so early in the season.