7 mins Charman shot. 1-0

Half time: Magpies 1 Villans 0

67 mins Hunter shot. 2-0

Full time: Magpies 2 Villans 0

A deserved victory at Gallowgate on Friday night ended a good week for Newcastle's U23 side - and extinguished the title hopes of the visitors in the process. 

Winning their first league game of 2018 at the eighth attempt against Reading on Monday night, the Magpies hosted a Villa side bidding for a ninth consecutive league and cup success and having won the first meeting of these two sides 6-0 back in October. 

Victory for the Villans on Tyneside would have left them just a single point behind league leaders Blackburn Rovers ahead of the final round of games on Monday. However the form book soon went out of the window, winger Victor Fernandez desperately close to putting United ahead with a low curler on three minutes.

By the seventh minute the ball was in the Villa net though, Luke Charman bursting in from the left flank and eluding two defenders before clinically driving home his fourteenth goal of the season.

The Magpies striker then sent a 40th minute header straight at the Villa goalkeeper and came close again in first half injury time when a solo run ended with his shot whizzing across the face of goal.

Enjoying passages of possession in the first half but failing a find a route through a stoic home defence, Villa's best chance of the game saw Callum O'Hare's powerful rising effort bring out a fine fingertip stop from Nathan Harker in the 51st minute. 

From that point the visitors declined and a clinching second goal arrived on 67 minutes, Dan Barlaser's diagonal ball played back across the box from the right by Charman for Jack Hunter to stroke it into the Gallowgate goal from a central position 15 yards out. 

Further home goals could have followed with Callum Roberts finding space down the left flank and fellow substitute Mo Sangare screwing his shot wide when well-placed in the final seconds.

The final whistle confirmed Blackburn as champions and consigned the Villans to the promotion playoffs - Newcastle nine places and 22 points below them, only kept off bottom spot by West Bromwich Albion.

Biffa