Newcastle United Under-21s Aiming for Continued Success Against Derby County

Newcastle United Under-21s are looking to maintain their unbeaten start in the Premier League 2 as they prepare for a match against Derby County on Friday, with kick-off scheduled for 7pm BST. The young Magpies travel to the Proctor Cars Stadium, the home ground of non-league team Matlock Town, following an impressive 1-0 away win against defending champions Tottenham Hotspur.

Ben Parkinson, who netted the winning goal in the recent match against Spurs, expressed his excitement about securing the first league victory of the 2024/25 season. The 19-year-old striker is keen for United’s second team to continue their strong opening to the campaign. He stated, “We were all buzzing after the game as it was a great way to win. It was a really good team performance, taking an early lead and seeing out the game against a good side in Tottenham who won the Premier League 2 last season.”

Parkinson highlighted the positive start to the season, noting that the team has garnered four points from their initial two games. He acknowledged previous struggles with maintaining clean sheets and securing leads, especially after losing a lead in their match against Sunderland last week. “We wanted to make sure we put things right and there was no better challenge than against one of the best sides in the league,” he added.

The striker emphasized the team’s ambition to secure victories, mentioning, “We want to win all the time but to win two away games in a row would be really pleasing.” While he praised the team’s performance against Tottenham, he also recognized that there are still areas for improvement. “There’s work to be done but we’re looking forward to Derby with the aim of picking up three points,” he remarked.

Parkinson, who signed his first professional contract with Newcastle in the summer of 2023, was pleased to score early in the season. “As a striker, all you want to do is score goals and to get off the mark early on in the season was great for me. I’m a confidence player so scoring so quickly into the season has given me a boost,” he said. He added that consistency is crucial for his development and expressed eagerness to play more matches to further sharpen his goal-scoring instincts.