Sibling rivalry and brotherly love of Toon’s local heroes
Chief Newcastle United Writer MATTY Longstaff’s rise to prominence feels all the more remarkable given he was only a few weeks into his first season with Newcastle United’s reserves just 12 months ago.
After signing a professional deal, the idea was to get Under-23 matches under his belt and then go out to a League Two club for experience.
However, he has ended up bypassing going out on loan and is now giving Steve Bruce a genuine first-team selection headache.
Matty was still reporting into the club’s academy up until May this year and he was only a last-minute call-up to the senior squad for the trip to China in pre-season.
He is now the youngest Premier League debutant to score for the club at just 19 years and 199 days and notably he’s done it with just 23 reserve games in Premier League 2 under his belt.
The advice to get into the firstteam squad from Ben Dawson last year was “You’ll have to be better than your brother”.
And there’s no doubt that a bit of sibling rivalry has helped both Sean and Matty Longstaff in their path to senior-team glory in the last year or so.
Both local lads came through the system at the academy and there are some staggering facts that accompany them on their journey.
For example, Sean could have been let go by Newcastle at one stage as the club contemplated whether he was worth a professional contract.
Two age groups below, his younger sibling was kicking and screaming his way through the ranks.
You could go back to a spring night against Benfica when Sean was one of the ball boys as the academy kids tried to play a part in helping Newcastle through to the semi-finals of the competition by returning the ball quickly into play as Alan Pardew’s side tried to chase down a two-goal deficit.
Even then, United considered Cal Roberts and Dan Barlaser as the better prospects but Sean’s progress has been spectacular in the years that have passed.
Another startling fact is that neither brother is yet to win a cap for England at any level, although Scotland and Northern Ireland have traced their family history to see if they are eligible to play in Euro 2020 qualifiers, only to be disappointed by the results.
Incredibly, almost 12 months to the day the brothers performed magnificently against Manchester United at St James’ Park, the duo were turning out for the second string against Notts County.
That night, Dawson needed a right-back and Longstaff put his hands up to play his part in a 2-0 win at Notts County in the Checkatrade Trophy.
The two Longstaff lads have gone from kicking a ball about in the backyard and playing FIFA together on their games console, to beating seasoned professionals like Juan Mata and David De Gea in front of a global audience.
Sean tried to sum up his emotions after the game and told the Chronicle: “When he scored, I froze for a second.
“I thought was going to start crying! But, it’s unbelievable. I’m so happy for him, I know how hard he’s worked.”
And “unbelievable” was the feeling in the Longstaff family household on the morning after I th e night before.
Sean and Matty’s dad, David, didn’t have a bad sporting career himself, in the ice hockey world. At the National Ice Centre in Nottingham hangs a huge portrait of the former Great Britain, Newcastle Vipers and Sheffield Steelers star and he is arguably the best player of his generation in this country.
Speaking yesterday, Longstaff senior said: “I’m still in shock, but couldn’t be prouder.
“The whole family are proud. Unbelievable is the word.
“It’s not every day you wake up and your two sons have just helped beat Man United! “It’s great to enjoy for now but the hard work will start again for them later this week I’m sure.” Longstaff senior’s Matty celebrates his goal with Andy Carroll ecstatic face was beamed out to the nation on Sky Sports and Match of the Day on Sunday night.
The rise has been so meteoric, it’s amazing to think Sean couldn’t get a kick in the first team this time last year and it took until Boxing Day at Liverpool for him to make his debut.
Since then, every good game and every good pass has been roared on by his friends and former coaches at North Shields Athletic Juniors and it was the same for Matty after making his debut against Leicester City in the League Cup before his Premier League bow against Man United.
Yet their faces were splashed on the back pages of the national papers this morning.
This season Matty could easily have been on loan in League One or League Two, instead he found himself facing up to the Match of the Day cameras after the game.
He said: “I think getting to play with Sean was unbelievable.
“We used to kick each other in the garden growing up, so to be on the same team, for our hometown club, and to win against Manches