Ben Dawson has revealed his pride after his Newcastle United under-23 side lost narrowly to Everton in the Premier League Cup final at Goodison Park.
The Magpies were undone by Morgan Feeney’s header on the hour after battling hard for long periods of the game.
United players looked devastated at the final whistle but did not make it easy for the a Toffees side who were crowned champions of the upper tier of the reserve system last week.
Dawson said: “I couldn’t be prouder of the lads.
“Throughout the season.
“Tonight was disappointing as we controlled the ball really well.”
Newcastle did have their chances, too, with Cal Roberts sending a free-kick over and Luke Charman almost getting on the end of an effort from close range.
Dawson said: “I thought we had good control up the pitch.
“We managed to position ourselves well.
“It was just the last final pass and we didn’t get that bit of luck or an individual error like they got for our goal.”
The game finished in farcical circumstances as United broke but the ball struck the referee.
Dawson said: “Yeah it was one of those nights at that stage.
“The lads have done everything we asked.
“Hopefully that spurs them on to beat Southampton in the play-offs.”
United will travel to St Mary’s for the promotion play-off to end their season but no date has been set by the Premier League as of yet.
