Fulham U21 made light work of Newcastle United U21 at St James' Park on Monday evening, running out 4-0 winners in Premier League 2 Division One. The result leaves the visitors sitting third in the table with six points from two games, while the hosts remain rooted to the bottom with nothing to show for their opening two fixtures.
And here's the thing — it started quickly. Casey opened the scoring in the eleventh minute, and Zepa collected a yellow card almost immediately after. Quashie doubled the lead before the break with a second goal in the twenty-ninth minute, and then again shortly after the restart in the forty-sixth. Newcastle had won just one of their previous five matches, and by then it was clear this wasn't going to be a contest.
The second half brought more substitutions than drama. Sanusi came on for Newcastle in the thirty-sixth minute, followed by a flurry of changes on both sides. Harper and Pivas were brought on together in the sixty-fifth, while Casey, Salia, and Neave all featured for the hosts before the hour mark. Sani added a fourth in the eighty-third minute, and Ferreira missed a penalty in the eighty-sixth — a cruel twist for the home side.
To be fair, the statistics tell a simple story. Both teams held half the possession, but Fulham registered six shots on target compared to Newcastle's three, and kept their shape better. The hosts managed more attacks overall — sixty-four to fifty-three — but couldn't turn them into anything meaningful. Five yellow cards to one suggests Newcastle struggled to contain the visitors' movement.
The gap in the table now reads three points, and that feels generous to Newcastle. They've lost all two games, conceding five goals and scoring none, while Fulham have won both. The hosts fell apart after the opener and never really got back into it, which is perhaps the most honest way to describe the afternoon.