Lawrence lauds "exciting" display after beating Boston | OneFootball

The young Magpies scored three times in the first-half, courtesy of Sean Neave's hat-trick, with the Winlaton-born forward netting from the penalty spot before completing his treble with two impressive finishes before the half-time whistle, taking his goalscoring tally to seven in his opening eight matches at second-string level.

Boston pulled a goal back within the opening two minutes of the restart following Frankie Maguire's impressive strike but United's youngsters produced a firm defensive showing to record back-to-back wins in Group D following a 4-3 triumph over Gateshead in August.

Lawrence, who joined the Magpies' Academy last month following his departure from Manchester United, told newcastleunited.com: "These competitions really expose the lads in terms of their next steps and senior football. Naturally, in the first-half, we had a good start to the game and a real energy about us.

"We spoke before the game about the lads standing up to the physical tests and the challenges that these types of games give you. I thought they did that and, in periods, showed quality to get the goals so, overall, it was a good night for the group and a good performance and win.

"The lads would be upset that we conceded so soon in the second-half after being so dominant and playing so well, getting that three-goal lead but we asserted ourselves in the next five to ten minutes and resettled, getting back some control within the game.

"I felt we showed better game management in the second-half in terms of what was needed to get the win and three points in the end. It's nice to get another one in the competition and another two games [against Scunthorpe United and FC Halifax Town] to look forward to."

Neave, who made his first-team debut for Eddie Howe's side during a pre-season friendly against Celtic FC last summer, has made a bright start in front of goal at under-21 level, with the in-form 18-year-old netting six goals in his last five away fixtures.

Often deployed as a centre-forward, Lawrence highlighted the promising teenager's performance as an attacking midfielder and his positive work out of possession.

The Bermondsey-born coach added: "He plays the majority of the time through the middle as a number nine but he has played as a ten before and slightly deeper. He is intelligent, can handle the ball and I thought he found some really good spaces, particularly in the first-half where he caused a lot of threat.

"It's something he does enjoy, in terms of dropping in and linking, and he played the role properly which is credit to him. It was really nice for him to get the goals which he loves to do but, more importantly, his overall performance on the game and his energy off the ball was really good.

"Going forward, we looked really exciting at times. Seung-soo [Park] also got more minutes under his belt and, physically, he looked good and caused a lot of problems. It's not easy coming to places like this, a strong National League side, and if you don't do certain things well, these types of nights can be really tough so I'm pleased for the lads."