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Young delighted after netting maiden goal for under-23s
Written by Luke Vinton
Midfielder Jack Young was pleased to net his first goal for Newcastle United under-23s during the young Magpies' 2-2 draw against their Middlesbrough counterparts.
After an even half hour, Newcastle's second-string conceded twice in as many minutes at Whitley Park, with strikes from Stephen Walker and Ben Liddle giving Neil Redfearn's side a huge mountain to climb at the half time break.
However, the young Magpies produced a gutsy fightback in the final 45 minutes of their Premier League 2 clash, with Young halving the deficit with his first goal at second-string level - an excellent curling effort from 25 yards - before substitute Oisín McEntee rescued a point for the hosts with a stoppage time leveller, with Young producing a dangerous free kick which led to the equalising goal.
The 19-year-old midfielder told nufc.co.uk: "I'm buzzing (to score my first goal for the under-23s)! I had a few chances in the first half and at the start of the second so I was glad when I scored. As soon as I hit it, I thought it was going in straight away. I've been working on it with the lads in training so it's good to see that it has paid off.
"I thought the goal gave us a boost. I thought the lads were excellent and kept piling on the pressure which was good. It was really enjoyable to play in the second half and I think if we'd played an extra five minutes, we could have even got all three points.
"We were really disappointed with the first half as we didn't stick to the game plan but to come back like that late on is great. It does feel like we took more than a draw as we had to dig deep and show the character we have in this team and how together we are as a squad.
"I was really happy that we managed to get the equaliser. We've conceded in stoppage time a couple of times ourselves which is hard to take. To do it like that is sweeter and I'm just happy we showed the character and that bit of heart that we needed to get ourselves back into the game."
Young, who signed his first professional contract with United last summer, played with defender Florian Lejeune in the opening 45 minutes as the Frenchman played his first game since sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in April.
The teenager was also pleased to test himself against a Boro side containing a number of senior players, including forward Marcus Browne and defender Marc Bola.
"It was good to play with Florian," Young added. "He is always looking for a pass and really showed his experience. As a midfielder, it's good to be playing with a defender that likes to pass.
"Middlesbrough put a really strong team out and it was good to match ourselves against them. You want to be testing yourself against the best players and showing what you are about.
"This result is a boost for the squad. We need to carry on from this and keep being positive, which the manager has been saying in everything we do. We'll keep pushing and move onto the next game, where we'll try and go for the three points."