Newcastle's youngsters took the lead three minutes after the restart at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, courtesy of Vakhtang Salia's sixth goal of the season at Under-21 level, before the Georgian striker was sent off in the closing stages for violent conduct.

Despite a valiant defensive display with ten men, Matteo Dashi's stoppage-time leveller cruelly denied Newcastle's second-string a sixth competitive win in succession as well as back-to-back Premier League 2 victories.

Stockdale told newcastleunited.com: "It feels like a defeat with the goal coming so late but I've got to give huge credit to the lads again. For 25 minutes, we're down to ten men, defending our box so well.

"I don't think Roman [Dowell] had anything to do other than claim a few crosses and make a couple of half-decent saves but, when we were down to ten men, I don't think he had much to do at all before the moment right at the very end.

"It was a good finish by the player and it's really disappointing for the lads because they put so much into the game and deserved to win.

"It doesn't feel like we've picked up a point - it feels like we've lost two at the moment. It is a good point in the end but, when we're sitting in the dressing room, the boys are more disappointed to drop two than pick up one which is natural with such a late goal."

Despite the late blow, Newcastle's second-string extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to six matches and return to Premier League Cup action when facing an away clash against Peterborough United on Friday, 13th November (kick-off 7pm GMT), followed by back-to-back Group D fixtures against Nottingham Forest this month.

After qualifying for the Jersey Mike's Trophy knockout stages on Tuesday as well as claiming a 3-2 comeback win against Sunderland at St. James' Park, Stockdale revealed his pride for his young side's performances in recent weeks and is hopeful they can build on their positive form of late.

He added: "After the week they've had with the big game on Tuesday and two last week, with the physical and emotional fatigue that might come with those games, I thought we were really proud of the boys.

"We're against different opposition all the time, which is really good for our programme. We've got a little break now so we can refresh. We have suspensions to deal with and lads out on international duty as well so the team will look different for Peterborough.

"It gives everybody the opportunity to play and stake their claim to get into the team. The togetherness within the squad is as good as I've had while I've been in the building.

"They need to make sure they maintain that because, if they can, they've got every chance of being part of a successful team which also helps their own individual journey."