19mins Vaughan shot 0-1

33mins Shanks shot 1-1

Half time: Newcastle 1 Everton 1

73 Gate shot 2-1

81 mins Hughes penalty 2-2

Full time: Newcastle 2 Everton 2 

""A lot of the lads we have in the team were from the Academy and are regulars in the Reserves.

"I want them to look like good reserve-team players because they have had a year's experience.

"They have tasted now for over a year and I want them to look a lot more mature.

"From what I saw against Everton it looks like they can give me that."

"We did some work on the formation before the Everton game.

"It suited the personnel we had available and I wanted to take the game to Everton as well.

"I think we did that and had people like Glenn Reay to break things up a lot further forward.

"I think that I favour a 4-4-2 because it is a very educational formation at this level.

"It is an easy one to understand for the players and an easy one to coach.

"But it is always important to be open to a little bit of change depending on who we are playing against."

That goal galvanised United and we were deservedly level in the 33rd minute when Chris Shanks hit a low shot across the goalkeeper from the right hand side of the box.

Starting to find our forward rhythm, debutant Glenn Reay then played in Troisi, but when the youngster opted to pass to Carl Finnigan the consequent shot past the 'keeper was rightly ruled out for offside.

Two more efforts from the boot of Shanks near the end of the first period saw us go in at the break in the ascendancy.

Like the first, the second period started slowly with our first decent opening seeing Finnigan and Troisi linking again just before the hour - the latter seeing his shot blocked when he should have tested the 'Toffees 'keeper.

Midway through the second half though, wearside-based referee Haines incurred the wrath of the home side, as he blew for a foul on Finnigan that was clearly in the Everton area - but then indicated a free kick outside the box in a direction that the Newcastle player hadn't even come from.

Unfortunately Pattison was unable to profit from the twice-taken free kick, but within six minutes we were ahead when his fellow midfielder Kris Gate shot home from an almost identical position.

That looked like being the crucial goal but as the clock ran down, Everton began to threaten again and Krul had to tip away a long-range effort from Phelan.

With nine minutes left, referee Haines again was the unwanted centre of attention as he indicated a spot kick after a melee in the Newcastle area saw Connor go down under challenge from Edgar.

Amid strong protests, Mark Hughes sent Tim Krul the wrong way to level the scores up and give former Toon Academy boss Alan Irvine a point on his return to his former employers.