10 mins Richardson shot 1-0

15 mins Ferguson shot 2-0

22 mins Gosling shot 3-0

34 mins Moore shot 3-1

43 mins Dobbie shot 3-2

Half time: Swans 2 Magpies 3

47 mins Dobbie shot 3-3

48 mins Ranger penalty 4-3

51 mins McDermott shot 5-3

Full time: Swans 3 Magpies 5

Coach Peter Beardsley told the official website:

""I thought Santon was excellent - he very rarely gives the ball away, joins in well, he's two footed. When I look at him - and I don't want to put people's expectations too high - but when I look at (Paolo) Maldini, he plays the same way.

"He's obviously nowhere near that level yet but he reminds me very much of him, the way he wants to play, the way he wants to bomb forward, and to be fair to him he's quite happy to defend.

"He's very clever. He's a good footballer, there's no doubt about it. To be a right-footed left-back, you've got to have confidence and he has, but he's two-footed, he's very two-footed. I'd say possibly his right's stronger, but overall I'd say he's very two-footed and I think the manager's made a good decision there to buy him.

"I've been very impressed with them (Swansea). I love Brendan Rodgers' beliefs. I was at the play-off final and I was excited by the way they play.

"I genuinely hope that the style of football gets them what they want. When you play against some of the big boys in the Premier League - like they have already - it's not easy, but some of the football they have played is outstanding. I love the way they play.

"I think they have got what you need to stay up. Brendan has done a magnificent job in a short space of time and when you look at Swansea as a club, then they are moving in the right direction."

Swans coach Alan Curtis commented that:

"They (Newcastle) dominated the game for the first 30 minutes and we couldn't get near them. We said at half-time that we had to get tighter which we did that in the last ten minutes of the first half and got the two goals back, but we didn't pick up our men for the first goal and they had a simple header and a simple finish.

"Results are important but the main thing is that the players are getting games, and it's a big learning curve for everybody. We are playing against top class opposition and against players who have had good experience of playing in the Premier League, but if you give good players time on the ball then they will punish you."

Newcastle Reserves extended their unbeaten start to the season by recording a highest away goal tally since 2007 at Llanelli's Parc y Scarlets Stadium on Wednesday night - an appropriately large scoreline at this rugby venue.

On a fine night in West Wales, it quickly rained goals with the orange-clad Magpies three goals ahead by the 22nd minute and a Swans side boasting a 100% record from their opening two home games in some disarray.

United went ahead on ten minutes when a corner dropped at Michael Richardson's feet and he couldn't miss from six yards out. Shane Ferguson then netted with a low shot from 12 yards five minutes later, as Swans defence featuring two trialist centre halves creaked alarmingly in the face of United's pace and movement.

With Nile Ranger, Dan Gosling, Mehdi Abeid and Davide Santon all registered goal attempts further goals looked inevitable and two soon became three when Magpies captain Gosling was fouled on the edge of the box.

Abeid's free-kick was spilled by Swans 'keeper Jose Moreira and Gosling was on hand to knock the ball home from close range for his third goal in two reserve games. However, the visitors went a little gung-ho in search of more and Luke Moore pulled one back after 34 minutes - having earlier spurned a decent opportunity at 0-0.

The ex-Aston Villa striker beat United 'keeper Rob Elliot to the ball on the edge of his box and steered it into the unguarded goal, despite the attentions of Paul Dummett. And two minutes before half-time Stephen Dobbie fired the Swans back into the game after a quick counter attack, Elliot wrong-footed as a low shot snuck past him.

And it was Dobbie who got City back on level terms at 3-3 two minutes after the restart, strolling through the United defence to convert via a post, after more good work from the dangerous Moore.

Within a minute though Newcastle regained their lead, when Ranger took a tumble in the penalty area under the slightest of challenges and converted the resultant spot kick to put Peter Beardsley's side 4-3 ahead.

By the 51st minute it was 5-3, when Moreira tried to tip over Sammy Ameobi's effort but only succeeded in presenting the ball to Gosling, who knocked it down for Greg McDermott to walk it in from point blank range.

David Cotterill then somehow contrived to miss the chance to make it 5-4 from underneath the United crossbar before things at last started to settle down - Elliot and Moreira both making stops in the closing stages to partially atone for some of their earlier misadventures.

For United, Santon completed 90 minutes at left back and with Swansea showing little down their right, the Italian defender got upfield at every opportunity, looked confident in possession and had three decent attempts on goal.

And while Mehdi Abeid also caught the eye with some neat touches and control, another industrious display from Dan Gosling confirmed that he's on course to challenge for a first team berth at SJP.

That's now eleven goals in two games for the reserves and including last season, Newcastle's second string have now scored sixteen times in their last six away reserve games.

PS: United's decision to allow the reserves to use the aircraft chartered for first team trips was a welcome one, allowing the team to fly there and back in a day and avoid a 740 mile round trip by road.

(Thanks to NUFC.com readers Dan Srivastava and David Goldsworthy for providing photos.)

Biffa

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