Newcastle United coach Neil Redfearn has sympathised with his players after their defeat at Shrewsbury in the EFL Trophy.
United were beaten 3-0 to end their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages and the distant dream of a Wembley final.
The Magpies fell 2-0 behind in the first half but hit the post and the bar in the second half through Thomas Allan and Victor Fernandez.
Shrewsbury put in the lid on the game through former Wales international Dave Edwards with a fine strike.
But Redfearn felt his own side battled well.
Redfearn said: “They played well.
“I’m not going to say they played badly if they did well.
“The goals were poor.
“It was tough for us in the first half because we had two young players in midfield.
“It’s difficult because you are playing against a side halfway League One.
“But we started off OK and weathered the storm for about 10 minutes.
“We started to get a foot hold in the game and there were a couple of chances that flashed across the box and if somebody gets a touch on that it’s a different game.
“Obviously the goals are poor from our point of view and if you look at the average age of our side you are always open to it.”
