Newcastle United went to Preston for the next phase of their pre-season programme with Steve Bruce looking to give most of his players minutes in the bank in soggy Lancashire.
United named two different sides for the trip to North End with the first half team playing a 3-5-2 with Rolando Aarons and Yoshinori Muto leading the line while the back three was rotated to include Paul Dummett, Fabian Schar and Federico Fernandez.
It was a game of few chances in the early stages with neither team having much of a sight of goal. Isaac Hayden’s long-range effort flew over while Jonjo Shelvey went close soon afterwards, with Declan Rudd’s block preventing him from opening his account.
Shelvey then did open the scoring with a free-kick that beat Rudd.
Matty Longstaff was shown a yellow card as well as the youngster continued to impress in his first team auditions. Here’s how Lee Ryder rated the players.
Freddie Woodman 7
Not a great deal to do but looked comfortable playing the ball out with his feet.
Javier Manquillo 6
Nothing spectacular to report.
Fabian Schar 7
Shows real coolness on the ball. Won the free-kick that led to the opening goal after forward run.
Fede Fernandez 6
A steady 45 minutes and more minutes in the tank.
Paul Dummett 7
Left his mark early on with crunching challenge on Tom Barkhuizen. A decent display.
Matt Ritchie 7
Made a decisive challenge to deny Clarke. Booked for pulling back Browne.
Jonjo Shelvey 8
At the centre of everything Newcastle created. Stepped up to hammer home free-kick from 35 yards and open the scoring.
Matty Longstaff 8
Not daunted by life in the first team. Booked for steaming in on Preston skipper Clarke early on but then calm and composed after that.
Isaac Hayden 7
Had a couple of glimpses of goal.
Rolando Aarons 6
Played in a more central role but didn’t gel with Muto.
Yoshinori Muto 5
A dip in performance after goal in Shanghai against West Ham. Moaned at Aarons towards the end of the half after a mix-up.
