A late collapse on Tuesday night left Newcastle U21s in peril of missing out on qualification for the knockout stages of the inaugural Premier League Cup.

Having recovered from going behind to lead 2-1 with 15 minutes left, news that Leeds United had drawn at Halifax elsewhere in Group C meant that the second-placed Magpies were set to go top.

However that rapidly changed as Boston scored twice in five minutes and Leeds won their penalty shootout to collect the additional point on offer. 

Defeat for Newcastle in Lincolnshire saw the hosts go ahead of them into the second qualification spot. As a consequence, victory in the final game at Gateshead may not be enough to advance.

Second bottom of the National League, Boston lined up with just five of the players that started a 0-0 draw against basement side Ebbsfleet United last weekend.

They went ahead when Sam Osborne hit a dipper from inside the left corner of the box in the sixth minute; Aidan Harris seemingly thought it was going wide, only to drop over him and into his net.

The Magpies levelled on 14 minutes; Alfie Harrison's low shot from outside the box clipping the boot of Ben Parkinson and deceiving goalkeeper Aidan Stone.

Harris denied Osborne again in the 37th minute and two minutes before the break, Palmer charged down the right and found Parkinson who finished into the roof of the net from 12 yards for his ninth U21 goal of the season.

The turning point of the tie came early in the second period when Parkinson blasted the ball wide of the target and out of the ground when Harrison was well-placed to finish. Had the Magpies gone 3-1 up then, the outcome could have been very different.

Amid a flurry of Newcastle substitutions, the Pilgrims levelled in the 76th minute after a scramble in the area; Pemi Aderoju getting the final touch from close in.

Five minutes later Boston regained the lead when two substitutes combined; Adam Marriott crossed from the right hand byline and Frankie Maguire bundling the ball home at the back post.

Biffa