Hunter Hopeful Youngsters Can Keep Momentum Going

First-half goals from Sean Longstaff and Luke Charman fired United to a 2-1 victory at Bristol City in the Premier League Cup, a result which moves Peter Beardsley's charges to the top of the competition's Group A.

After a stop-start beginning to the campaign, Newcastle are now enjoying their longest unbeaten stretch since the turn of the year, last week's quick-fire wins against Hartlepool United and Middlesbrough serving as the perfect tonic to a frustrating defeat at Fulham a fortnight ago.

Hunter felt that the Magpies were good value for their latest success, a late strike from City forward Diego De Girolamo proving to be little more than a consolation at Twerton Park.

"Maybe we did make it a little hard for ourselves by conceding the late goal, but in the end we deserved the three points," he told nufc.co.uk. "We dominated the first-half and created a lot of chances. We probably should have had a couple more goals against an older team - they had a lot of first team experience.

"Coming out for the second-half, we knew it'd be hard and we'd have to defend, but I thought we defended really well for large parts.

"We're on a good run now - three wins in a row - and hopefully we can keep it going. We've got a chance to rest up and get our energy back now, and then we'll come back and get ready to go again."

Newcastle return to Premier League 2 Division Two action against West Bromwich Albion in two weeks' time, before travelling to Morpeth Town in the Northumberland Senior Cup.

On the back of a hectic fortnight, Hunter paid tribute to the efforts of the young Magpies' coaching staff, as well as leading scorer Longstaff - who took his tally for the season to ten this afternoon.

"The staff have been great - they've been keeping us going," he said. "Everyone has rested well and we've been doing the right things. We saw that today - everyone looked really sharp and looked like they had loads of energy.

"We've been working hard on our shape in training and getting across the pitch, and it's paying off. We're restricting other teams.

"Sean is on fire at the moment. Everything he hits goes in! He's doing really well. Every time the ball drops, he seems to be in the right place, but he's doing the right things and that's really good for us as a team."