Hat-trick hero Toney’s got talent to take on first team
Newcastle U23s 4 AZ Alkmaar U23s 1
IVAN Toney fired Newcastle United to victory in the Whitby Town FC Challenge Cup as the forward scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar in the final.
The 21-year-old had already netted a brace during the victory over Celtic in the semi-final, and he saw off AZ Alkmaar with a treble, while substitute Mo Sangare added a fourth in injury time.
Peter Beardsley’s men took a twogoal lead inside the first half-hour thanks to two Toney strikes, before Adelmalek El Hasnaoui halved the deficit just before the break.
Luke Charman was then upended in the 73rd minute and Toney dispatched the resulting penalty, before Sangara rounded off the scoring.
Here’s what NUFC Writer Chris Waugh learned from Newcastle Under-23s successful visit to the Turnbull Ground.
1. ANOTHER LOAN MOVE FOR HAT-TRICK HERO TONEY APPEARS INEVITABLE
If there’s one player in that Newcastle Under-23 squad you’d contemplate giving an opportunity to train with the first team at the moment, it would be Toney.
Strong, quick and direct, this forward has the potential to be a potent forward – and that’s exactly why United recruited him from Northampton Town two summers ago.
He has started pre-season in electric fashion too; after a brace on Thursday night against Celtic, Toney followed it up with a treble in the final.
His first was an excellent lob, albeit it into an empty net after a mistake from the goalkeeper, while for his second he coolly rounded the goalkeeper before slotting into an empty net.
Despite having missed a penalty against Darlington earlier this month, Toney’s final act was to emphatically dispatch a spot-kick and claim his hat-trick in the 73rd minute of the final.
There are still areas of his game he must improve upon – his passing remains patchy, while he is raw in parts – but Toney certainly has the components to succeed.
Following a successful loan spell at League One Scunthorpe United last season, Toney looks almost certain to head out again in the coming weeks.
In fact, as well as Scunthorpe, it is understood that Wigan Athletic are tracking the forward’s situation.
There may be calls from some fans on social media for Toney to be given a chance by Rafa Benitez, but that does not appear likely at this stage.
But Toney doesn’t look like he’ll be in Beardsley’s squad for much longer, one way or another.
2. DAN BARLASER HAS BLOSSOMED SINCE HIS FIRST-TEAM DEBUT
The 20-year-old midfielder made his first start for the Magpies during the 3-1 FA Cup third-round replay victory over Birmingham City after impressing for the Under-23s over the last few seasons.
In the seven months since, Barlaser’s game has gone on to another level, with the confidence clearly pulsing through his veins.
During both matches in this tournament, Barlaser played in a deeplying midfield role, but he was given the freedom to advance too.
He constantly kept play moving and fed his team-mates with some delicious threaded passes. He is very much the controlling midfielder every side needs.
Physically, Barlaser still needs to develop, and he surely needs to head out on loan to further his progression.
The Gateshead-born midfielder is playing the best football of his young career at the moment and it seems the perfect time to capitalise on that.
3. HOW DID NEW SIGNING JOSEF YARNEY LOOK?
Newcastle signed two centrebacks to add to their development squad this summer – Yarney from Everton, and Stefan O’Connor from Arsenal.
The latter put in a man-of-thematch display in the semi-final, while Yarney followed that up with a competent performance in this match.
Unlike O’Connor, who is very much a ball-playing defender who moulds himself on the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Yarney appears to be a little more of a no-nonsense centreback.
Decent enough with his feet, the towering 19-year-old is strong in the air and makes plenty of interceptions.
This youngster is ambitious – he told this reporter earlier this month he wants to break into the first team within a year – and he will challenge O’Connor and Stuart Findlay for a starting berth at centre-back for Beardsley’s side this term.
The 24-year-old defender’s fiveyear stint in the North East appears to be coming to an end.
Reports have linked the centreback with a move to Dutch club PEC Zwolle – who he has supposedly had a trail with – and a reunion with his former manager at Melbourne Heart, John van ‘t Schip.
The one-cap Australia international has had a torrid time with injuries during his half-decade on Tyneside, hampering his development and preventing Good from fulfilling the promise which led United to snap him up from the Melbourne outfit in 2012.
Loan spells at Bradford City and Dundee United brought just seven league appearances between them, yet last term Good became a regular fixture at the heart of Newcastle Under-23s’ defence alongside Stuart Findlay.
In fact, Good even made his firstteam debut during the 3-0 defeat at Oxford United in the FA Cup fourth round in January.
However, with the arrivals of defenders O’Connor and Yarney this summer, Good’s age profile means it is time for him to find football elsewhere.
Given that Good did not appear in the squad for either of the matches at The Turnbull Ground, we can r assume he does not havee a United future.
Last summer, United’s reserve side won the Steel Park Cup pre-season tour- nament in Corby and even- tually missed out on pro- motion by losing in thee play-off final.
Just a year on, a victory inn another pre-season competition hopefully signals the start of an equally successful, if not even more fruitful, campaign to follow.
Tim Krul, Achraf Lazaar and Emmanuel Riviere are training with the U23s, but none of them played in this competition because Beardsley wants to develop.
The Lewis Gibson saga has also been put to one side and instead this group of youngsters – minus the likes of Toney – can hopefully build up to another successful campaign. help these youngsters