Newcastle United Under-19s 1 Benfica Under-19s 5 | OneFootball

Newcastle's youngsters were unable to convert a number of clear-cut opportunities in front of goal during the opening half-hour at Whitley Park before, arguably, trailing against the run of play at half-time following Eduardo Fernandes' deflected effort.

Magpies goalkeeper George Mair saved a penalty shortly after the restart, denying Gonçalo Moreira from 12 yards, but Benfica doubled their lead through Francisco Silva's close-range finish before efforts from Fernandes and Moreira extended the visitors' advantage further.

Joe Brayson's composed strike pulled a goal back for the hosts in the final stages before Fernandes completed his hat-trick in stoppage-time as United's youngsters suffered a third successive defeat in the competition's league phase.

Benfica created the first goalscoring opportunity of the clash as Tiago Freitas latched onto Logan Watts' attempted clearance before the midfielder's drive inside the box whistled over the crossbar before Newcastle survived a further attack from the visitors as Moreira drilling a powerful effort inches above the crossbar.

Wooster, who joined Newcastle's Academy from Southend United in the summer of 2023, went close to opening the scoring as the Romford-born teenager's strike at goal was spilled by Diogo Ferreira before the Benfica goalkeeper claimed the loose ball.

Leo Shahar, on target in Newcastle's Youth League defeat against Barcelona last month, went close to firing the hosts ahead after arriving onto Sam Alabi's accurate pass before flashing a low effort wide of the far post.

Newcastle continued their push for a breakthrough as Sean Neave completed a positive run from distance before picking out Wooster inside the box, who saw a deflected shot at goal fly narrowly wide of the left-hand post.

In the 35th minute, United's youngsters fell behind through Fernandes' strike as the left winger's strike inside the penalty area took a slight deflection, wrong-footing Mair, before the ball rolled into the net.

Newcastle almost drew level within the opening 60 seconds of the restart as a kind deflection saw the ball land kindly into Neave's path but the Winlaton-born forward's resulting low effort was pushed away by the alert Ferreira.

Benfica were awarded a penalty shortly after as Shahar was adjudged to trip José Neto inside the box but Mair produced an impressive save to deny Moreira as the 16-year-old 'keeper, a representative of England at under-17 level, pushed the low spot-kick out for a corner.

Newcastle, however, suffered a tough blow in the 57th minute as Francisco Silva extended Benfica's advantage. After Moreira's low curling strike from the edge of the box was parried by Mair, the alert striker was on hand to bundle the ball into the net from close-range.

Benfica netted a third in the 67th minute through Fernandes as the Benfica forward's strike from the edge of the penalty area took a slight deflection before flying into the roof of the net.

United's youngsters conceded a fourth goal ten minutes later as Moreira, denied from the penalty spot, scored for the visitors after avoiding a challenge inside a crowded penalty area before drilling a clinical shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

Newcastle pulled a goal back in the 88th minute through Brayson as the teenage striker, son of former Magpies striker Paul, raced through on goal, following Rory Finneran's through pass, before calmly slotting the ball beyond Ferreira.

Benfica, however, regained their four-goal cushion in the third minute of stoppage-time as Fernandes completed his hat-trick, reacting quickly inside the box to place the ball beyond Mair from close-range, rounding off a tough afternoon for the young Magpies.

Newcastle United Under-19s: George Mair, Scott Bailey (Rory Finneran 61), Dylan Charlton, Anthony Munda, Leo Shahar (c), Sean Neave (Baran Yildiz 86), Logan Watts, Seung-soo Park (Alfie Seldon 61), Henry Johnson, Kacey Wooster (Joe Brayson 61), Sam Alabi (Mohamed Waddani 71).

Subs not used: Roman Dowell, Isaac Moran, Oliver Goodbrand, Guy Bloomer.