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Derby prospect gave us a 'massive incentive', says Smith
Written by Rory Mitchinson
Callum Smith admits that the prospect of a Tyne-Wear derby clash gave Newcastle United Under-18s a “massive incentive” ahead of their Fourth Round FA Youth Cup win over Swansea City earlier this month.
The young Magpies take on Sunderland at Eppleton CW on Wednesday night looking to end their local rivals’ interest in the competition for the third time in four years.
The pair saw off their respective opponents in the Fourth Round aware that another meeting lay in wait – United overcoming the Swans 3-1 at St. James’ Park, with Sunderland victors by the same scoreline against Shrewsbury Town.
And with the wait almost over, Smith – an almost ever-present for Dave Watson’s side this season – believes that he and his teammates are raring to go.
“It’s a midweeker, the floodlights are on, and everyone is just buzzing – especially playing your closest rivals as well,” he told nufc.co.uk. “Knowing that Sunderland could be waiting (in the Fifth Round) was a massive incentive. With it only being two years that you play in the Youth Cup, you never really get the chance to play Sunderland in a knockout game.
“It’s got to be the biggest game in most of our careers up to this point. Hopefully there are many more like this to come.
“We just have to play like it’s any other team, and not look that it’s Sunderland. If we play like we know we can, we’ll be good enough on the night to get the win.”
Watson’s charges approach the tie on the back of a narrow defeat at Liverpool in the Under-18 Premier League on Saturday, while Sunderland – currently bottom of the standings – were beaten 5-1 at home to Middlesbrough.
After beginning the campaign in impressive fashion, the Magpies’ form has stuttered of late – despite their progress in the Youth Cup.
Smith, however, felt that United were good value for at least a point at Merseyside, a performance he is keen to take heart from ahead of their short journey down the A19.
“We set out to press Liverpool and get at them, and we did that really well. We had a couple of chances and limited them to two shots, and we should really have got something out of it,” he said.
“We started the season really well. We had a couple of mishaps, but we’ve started to find our feet again. The goal is to hopefully finish in the top four, and if not, finish at the top of our respective category after the split.
“We’ve got a good set of players and we’re really trying to push. Everyone feels that the Youth Cup game is massive.”
“Knowing that Sunderland could be waiting was a massive incentive. It’s got to be the biggest game in most of our careers up to this point."