ROVERS RES 0 ROVERS' youngsters finished a well-beaten side at Newcastle in the FA Premier Reserve League (North) last night, despite a bright start.

In the opening 20 minutes, they looked as though they could be on for a good result with the Newcastle keeper saving superbly from Andy McAvoy and Paul Forsyth having a chance at the far post to put Rovers in front.

But then it all started to go wrong and, when Peter Murphy committed a foul in the penalty area, Newcastle went ahead from the spot.

They held their lead until half time and, after the break, there was only one team in it with Newcastle adding two more goals to finish well-deserved winners.

Coach Terry Darracott was particularly disappointed with the standard of performance from his Rovers team, even though it was a largely inexperienced side.

"I accept we had a lot of youngsters out there but we didn't do very well against a team I did not feel was especially strong," he said.

"We were bright at the start but, to be honest, Newcastle outplayed us in the second half and the performance was disappointing. We should be able to do much better than that."

ROVERS: Williams, McCann, Taylor, Hawe, Murphy, McAvoy, Scates (sub Douglas 75 mins), D Dunning, Forsyth (sub O'Brien 55 mins), Baldacchino (sub Foster HT), Thomas. Subs not used: R Dunning, Bingham.

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