AN inexperienced Newcastle United Under-23s team were soundly beaten as they crashed to a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Southampton this evening.

The Magpies suffered a blow after half-an-hour as their goalkeeper, Paul Woolston, was forced off after colliding with an opponent.

His replacement, Otto Huuhtanen, was beaten seven minutes after coming on to the field as Nathan Tella scored from inside the area, and Southampton doubled their lead seven minutes into the second half as Michael Obafemi flicked home from close range.

Newcastle fell further behind when Alfie Jones headed home from a corner, and Jake Hesketh scored a Saints fourth as he found the net from the edge of the area.

Josef Varney pulled a goal back for the Magpies when his header from a corner rebounded into the net off a defender, but Southampton completed the scoring with four minutes left as Siph Mdlalose drilled home via the inside of the post.

Newcastle: Woolston (Huuhtanen 30), Newberry, Aziakonou, O’Connor, Yarney, Smith (Sangare 62), Heaney, Hunter, El-Mhanni, Bartlett (Charman 57), Gallacher.