Full time: Carlisle 1 Newcastle 1

Sam said:

"There was a 12,000 crowd, which made for a really good atmosphere, and the Carlisle lads certainly played very, very well and gave us a really, really big test.

"In the end our deficiencies in putting the ball in the back of the net nearly cost us the game. We really should have scored three or four and then, of course, we fell foul of the ultimate sucker punch. I thought we were comfortable and not under any threat, but we didn't defend the most important bit, the set piece, and the set piece is where Carlisle have scored. 

"Fortunately Nobby popped up with a great goal at the end to make it 1-1! I don't actually get too much out of winning or losing at this stage of the season...but I know a lot of people do.

"We we're missing a couple of lads through injuries as well. I was a little disappointed that Shola, Michael and James didn't get to play in some part of the game. I would have liked for that to happen, but in the end the most important thing is that they are fit for the start of the new season.

"Instead we've come with a group of players that probably played a little longer than I wanted them too, and that was mainly because we only had the young lads to back them up. But the exercise was great, I thought the competitive nature of the game was excellent, seeing as how it was only our second pre-season match and it was a really, really good workout.

"Danny Livesey was with me at Bolton and it was a good header from him. He's certainly grown up now from when he was at Wanderers - from a boy to a man - in fact Macca was with me at Bolton as well. I thought he did great last year and I hope he does even better this year because it looks like he's got himself a decent side."

Goalscorer Solano added:

Neil McDonald commented:

"It's always nice to get a goal and take the lead and it was slightly disappointing in the end, although the result didn't really matter, because it would have been nice to keep a clean sheet. We've learned a lot, we've still lots to improve on and I'm very happy with the fitness both with and without the ball at this stage of the season.

"I don't really want to talk about individuals, the whole team played really well. I was happy with the shape when we didn't have the ball, and we just need that cutting edge when we have it. We got in to situations where we could have played the killer ball, but we still have another three weeks to go for that.

"The sharpness in front of goal tends to be one of the last things to develop in pre-season. I work from a solid base, making sure we're nice and tight, because the fewer goals you concede, the better chance you have to win games. Once we are there with that, we look at what we do in the opposition half. I can't see me changing that, that's the way I work.

"It sends us away to Scotland on a high. Up there, we will top the fitness up again and do some good work with the football, away from everyone, and we'll build up again for the games against Queen of the South, Middlesbrough and Blackpool. 

" All of those are there to lead up to the most important game since we've come back, and that's Walsall. That game is getting nearer, we're really looking forward to it and we can't wait for these next three weeks to fly by."