Newcastle U21s won their penultimate PL2 fixture of the season on Friday, depriving Manchester United's former Toon coach Adam Lawrence and his current side top spot in the final table.

Victory for the Red Devils coupled with a 1-2 loss for leaders Chelsea to Fulham on Friday would have seen them win the league phase of the season, but the Magpies returned to haunt him and instead the Blues finish top by virtue of a better goal difference.

However, results elsewhere meant that Newcastle missed out on a top 16 finish, meaning that they won't get to participate in the PL2 play-offs that involve those sides. They also fail to qualify for next season's Premier League International Cup.

Beaten 0-3 in their last outing at Nottingham Forest, Robbie Stockdale's side started brightly and Park Seung-soo set up Matheos Ferreira for a simple finish on five minutes.

Top scorer Sean Neave then doubled the lead just three minutes later, cleverly scooping the ball over stranded goalkeeper Will Murdock from the edge of the area.

The hosts made three interval substitutions and halved the arrears within nine minutes when one of them - Jim Thwaites - crossed for Victor Musa to head beyond Aidan Harris.

However, the blue-clad Magpies had the final say, Anthony Munda taking advantage of a defensive error to net in the ninth of eleven added minutes after which his side rose five places into 18th.

With just one league game left though, Newcastle they cannot catch a Boro side who are four points ahead of them in the 16th and final play-off spot.

Instead, the Magpies enter in the first staging of an inter-league competition involving the eight PL2 finishers in positions 17 to 24, plus the top eight finishers from the Professional Development League - an U21 competition for clubs with Category Two Academies. Their opponents are to be confirmed.