And although the young Magpies were edged out by the Blues in the Under-18 Premier League Cup tie, Dave Watson took plenty of positives from the game. 

After falling 2-0 behind, United showed immense spirit to drag themselves back into the match and try to force an equaliser.

"Chelsea are obviously one of the better teams around," said Under-18s Coach Dave Watson. "We put in a really good performance and scored a really good goal.

"We got possession in our own half and played it through the thirds, then there was a little flick over one of the Chelsea defenders heads and Thomas Cole volleys it in the bottom right hand corner.

"We got it back to 2-1 in the last ten or 15 minutes and were chasing for an equaliser."

It wasn't just the goal that impressed Watson, as the team stuck to his instructions and gave themselves every chance of pulling it back.

"The lads kept their discipline and held a really good shape - we could've come away with a result at Chelsea," he said.

"From a confidence point of view, it's a really big thing for us."

The performance came despite a slow start to Newcastle's Under-18 Premier League campaign, with the Magpies currently bottom of the table. 

However, Watson is pleased with how his side have played and believes the team is progressing well.

"Results throughout the season, they haven't gone too well but performances have been good in most of the games.

"We've had draws with Manchester United and Liverpool, and we've lost by the odd goal to (Manchester) City and Everton.

"The lads get disappointed when they lose games, but they've got to see the bigger picture. It's all about development and there's been some really big performances within those games."