Newcastle United rounded-off their preparations for the season restart with a 2-1 win over La Liga side Rayo Vallecano.
Eddie Howe’s side opened the scoring four minutes in through Sean Longstaff before Chris Wood added a second from the penalty spot midway through the second-half.
Matt Targett scored an own goal with 15 minutes remaining but United held on for a morale-boosting victory ahead of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup last 16 clash against Bournemouth at St James’ Park.
Howe named a strong starting XI. Nick Pope and Kieran Trippier returned following their return from Qatar, with the likes of Sven Botman, Allan Saint-Maximin, Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Targett also featuring.
Mark Gillespie was the most experienced figure on the substitutes bench, with the rest made up of under-21s players.
The Magpies grabbed an early lead four minutes in when Trippier’s cross was half-cleared to Jacob Murphy. He found Longstaff in the box, who fired home emphatically into the roof of the net.
A foul on Joe Willock in the box saw the referee point to the penalty spot and Wood stepped up to make it 2-0. Vallecano then pulled one back via Targett’s own goal.
Our writer Jordan Cronin was at St James’ Park - and here’s his Newcastle United player ratings:
5. Matt Targett - 5
Looked a tad rusty. Pushed forward and often left space in behind but Vallecano didn’t have the quality to take advantage. Scored an unfortunate own goal. Photo: Jan Kruger
6. Jonjo Shelvey - 6
Had a tame shot saved 13 minutes in. Kept it ticking along in midfield, albeit he mis-placed a couple of passes. Photo: Stu Forster
7. Sean Longstaff - 8
Ghosted into the penalty area on several occasions. Brilliant finish to open the scoring before goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski denied Longstaff again from a similar position. Photo: ANDY BUCHANAN
8. Joe Willock - 7.5
Positive going forward. Linked up well down the left-hand side. Almost scored with a close-range header that was blocked. Won the penalty that Wood converted. | AFP via Getty Images