Steve McClaren's reign as Newcastle United manager got off to a solid if unspectacular start as the Magpies secured a 1-0 win against Gateshead in their pre-season friendly at The International Stadium this evening.
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The visitors got off to the perfect start when Papiss Cisse comfortably stroked home from the penalty spot after Massadio Haidara had been brought down by Simon Ramsden on six minutes.
Siem de Jong was inches away from connecting with an enticing Haidara cross midway through the half as the Premier League side remained on the front foot.
Moussa Sissoko squandered a golden opportunity to double his side's lead on the half-hour mark, when he was put through on goal only to see his effort saved by goalkeeper Sam Russell.
Newcastle made 11 changes at half time, and academy graduate Adam Armstrong thought he had struck with an instinctive first-time strike at goal just after the restart, only to see it curl inches wide of replacement goalkeeper Shaun MacDonald's goal.
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Emmanuel Riviere then picked out Rolando Aarons, but MacDonald got his body in the way of goal to deny the young midfielder.
It remained mostly one-way traffic, but the home side gave their fans something to cheer about when James Marwood's free kick drew a save from Freddie Woodman.
Gabriel Obertan could have made it a bit more comfortable for McClaren had his late, low shot found its way into the back of the net, but MacDonald kept it out to earn his side a creditable result.
Joe Sharratt
