15 mins Jonjo Shelvey's fine through ball released Joselu and without further ado he clipped the ball past David Marshall before saluting the away fans in the North East corner. 1-0

41 mins A throw-in down the City right was headed down by Lascelles in the box to Evandro. He wriggled to the byline before cutting the ball back from the right for Todd Kane to prod home from inside the six yard area via a heavy deflection off DeAndre Yedlin. 1-1

Half time: Tigers 1 Magpies 1

62 mins Newcastle's defence was caught out by a long punt forward by Jordy De Wijs that dropped on the edge of the area. Although Dicko was crowded out, Isaac Hayden's clearing tackle delivered the ball to Evandro and he volleyed powerfully home from 15 yards. 1-2

86 mins Matt Ritchie's free kick was pushed around his right post by Marshall at the expense of a corner. Ki's flag kick was flicked on by Ciaran Clark and fell nicely for Perez at the far post to lash the ball into the roof of the net from point blank range. 2-2

Full time: Tigers 2 Magpies 2

Rafa Benitez:

Questioned about Aleksandar Mitrovic:

"He has to come back. He has to come back, and he is due to come back on Wednesday. 

"We need to check on how he is, and then we will decide if he will go to Portugal. It is a day off for the rest of the squad, so we have some time to see how things are. Does he have a future? Tomorrow is the future for him.

On other absentees:

"Some of the players have little problems, and Kenedy’s wife has had a baby so he has had some time off. 

The only one that is a bit more serious could be (Florian) Lejeune. He has a knee problem that we have to assess in the next couple of days."

They Said

Nigel Adkins said: 

"It was a pleasing performance that showed real signs of progression.

"We talked to the players before the game and told them all we were interested in was the performance – that was the important thing for me.

"The pitch looked magnificent and when you’re playing on a surface as good as that, you want to be able to pass the ball well and I think we did that.

"I thought we were a little bit too slow with our passing in the first half, but we improved on that after the break.

"Overall, it was a good team display and one that definitely gave us lots of positives to build on as we continue our preparations ahead of the start of the season.

"We could’ve actually scored a few more goals on the night, and obviously it was disappointing to concede the second goal in the manner we did coming from a set-piece, but I can’t be too downhearted.

"I’ve got to be positive about the good things we’ve done. It’s a new team, a young team and a hungry team. It’s a team that wants to do well for this club.

"The spirit amongst the players has been excellent from day one of pre-season. We’ve worked them hard and, to a man, they’ve matched that. I’m pleased with both their fitness levels and their application on the pitch."

A far-from-full strength Newcastle side claimed a draw against their Championship hosts of the KCOM Stadium on Tuesday night, Ayoze Perez grabbing a late leveller following a corner from debutant Ki Sung-yueng.

At that point the black and whites appeared to be heading for a friendly defeat, having looked unimpressive since Joselu shot home to give them an early advantage.

Giving Jamaal Lascelles and Jacob Murphy their first pitch time of pre-season, reserve duo Sean Longstaff and Josef Yarney retained their starting places in a mixed XI in which Callum Roberts featured once again as a makeshift full back. 

The visitors took a 15th minute lead through an unexpectedly expert effort from Joselu, who took Jonjo Shelvey's fine through ball and finished with something of a flourish.

Shelvey then had a free-kick saved and when United were quickly awarded another, Matt Ritchie fired in an effort that Marshall parried to Jacob Murphy but his header was hooked off the line.

The Tigers levelled four minutes before the interval through Todd Kane, who close range effort ricocheted past Karl Darlow via the heel of DeAndre Yedlin.

Half a dozen Newcastle substitutes joined the action after the break and unsurprisingly that affected our pattern of play, City going ahead just after the hour through Evandro.

With Rolando Aarons unable to make any headway down the left, it was left to fellow substitute Victor Fernandez to supply an attacking threat on the opposite flank; his fine centre almost setting up an instant equaliser, only for Aarons to miscue his first-time attempt on goal.

Hull should have made it 3-1 in the 81st minute after Freddie Woodman's over-ambition on the edge of his area gifted the ball to Will Keane but after rounding the 'keeper, the former Manchester United man could only hit the side netting.

Ki replaced Shelvey for the final quarter of the game and it was the South Korean's corner that fell to Perez via Ciaran Clark's flick on, the Spaniard lashing the ball into the roof of the net at the far post to save our blushes.

The post-match comments of Benitez underlined his evident frustration with his ongoing austerity budget, while his team selection was seemingly motivated both by a desire to display the thinness of his squad and protect those assets he retains (Ritchie's 90 minute shift slightly undermined the latter theory, but by the end he was the nearest thing we had to a striker).

Quite what shape we'll be in two weeks from now as the window closure looms remains to be seen, but for a club who are notoriously sloth-like in the transfer market to suddenly pick up speed and conclude the business so obviously required is pushing the bounds of credibility. 

While not of the Shearer/Ferdinand pre-season farce of 1997, hearing of an injury to Florian Lejeune as Chancel Mbemba departs is a concern, while the absence of Paul Dummett so far in pre-season is hardly encouraging.

The natives are restless - and rightly so - as they see clubs all around us actively investing in both players and facilities while we seem to be almost willfully trying to avoid spending money. Trying to gauge the feelings of Toon watchers is an impossible task, but it's fair to say that anticipation and optimism are in short supply at present - and the only mention of fun is on the shirt advertising.

Biffa