3mins Quinn shot 1-0

8mins Quinn shot 2-0

11mins Quinn shot 3-0

38mins Lee penalty 3-1

39mins Lee deflection 3-2

Half time: Magpies 3 Hammers 2

50mins Tombides shot 3-3

54mins Moncur shot 3-4

68mins Lee penalty 3-5

89mins Aarons shot 4-5

Full time: Magpies 4 Hammers 5

Coach Willie Donachie (who back in his playing days was once attacked by a pitch invader at Upton Park):

"We started pretty well, and they started sloppily. Once we got 3-0 up, our players thought ‘that’s it – done’. They’re all young, so they don’t understand you can’t have that attitude, as it will come back to bite you.

"Our players basically thought they won, and it was too easy. Before they knew it, it was 3-3. Then in the second half they had the wind, and when they scored the fourth goal a few heads went down.

"In the last 10-15 minutes, we got it together again. We showed some passion, and could even have sneaked a draw out of it.

"It’s down to youth and inexperience - you can only learn through experience. It’s only because they’re young. We need a little bit more experience. We had two first years playing, and a lot of Academy players.

"We had Remie (Streete), Curtis (Good) and Bigi (Gael Bigirimana) – who are the more experienced players – and we needed a couple more with them.”

An incident-packed encounter at Whitley Park on Monday afternoon saw the Magpies race into an early 3-0 lead thanks to a lightning hat trick by striker Jonathyn Quinn. 

However the Hammers came roaring back with a five goal burst of their own including three from Elliot Lee -  the 18 year-old son of former toon favourite, Rob.

Newcastle substitute Rolando Aarons then rounded off the scoring with a fine late strike from the edge of the box, before Quinn could only agonisingly direct a header straight at the visiting goalkeeper in added time.

Quinn's first came from close range and gave his side a third minute lead that was promptly doubled two minutes later as he ran through a static defence to shot beyond the advancing Stephen Henderson.

A remarkable eight minute treble was then rounded off when the Ashington-born 17 year-old lobbed Henderson from the left side of the area - and he almost added a fourth soon after, only to see two quick-fire efforts blocked.

At the other end of the field meanwhile the visitors seemed undaunted by the margin of our lead and soon began to threaten Jak Alnwick's goal - the goalkeeper blocking two efforts and seeing vital interventions from Ben Drennan and Gael Bigirimana as danger loomed.

Drennan's challenge on Kieran Sadlier earned West Ham a 38th minute penalty that Lee confidently dispatched, before the same player saw his shot end up in the net after Alnwick's clearance bounced back in.

The second half brought renewed Hammers pressure and although Alnwick beat away Sebastien Lletget's low effort, he had no chance as Dylan Tombides shot across him for a 50th minute equaliser.

George Moncur's rasping drive four minutes later gave West Ham a deserved lead as their superior strength and movement saw them dominate the game and leave a stunned Newcastle struggling to complete a pass. 

A rare forward foray saw Bigirimana's wind-assisted free kick from the halfway line tipped over for a corner, but Curtis Good was soon making a timely clearance back in his own box, before fellow defender Lubo Satka blocked a goalbound shot with his hand on 68 minutes, Durham-born Lee stepping up to complete his hat trick from the spot.

3-5 down, the home side continued to be out-fought and out-thought but West Ham lost the magic touch in front of goal and Lee (who made his Premier League debut three days earlier) was denied a fourth when Remi Streete swiped the ball away off his toes.

Aarons then reduced arrears with a stylish 89th minute effort before visiting sub Blair Turgott struck the Toon crossbar. Quinn's late sight of goal then denied him a fourth of the game, a point for the black and whites from this game would have been a travesty.

So once again the U21s proved to be a rich source of goals for those fans who opted to watch this rather than hang around and outside the adjacent training ground. 

While United have struck 11 goals in four games though, their defence has failed to keep a clean sheet so far and conceded 14 times, something at least partly accounted for by the increasing number of U18 players fielded. 

The youthful make-up of the home side was underlined by another trio of teenagers blooded at this level: 16 year-old midfielder Ben Drennan in the starting XI, while 17 year old midfielder Liam Smith and 16 year-old forward Callum Roberts were both introduced from the bench.

Stats:

Jonathyn Quinn's treble was our first of the season, following on from no less than four reserve hat trick scorers in the 2012/13 season: Adam Campbell, Brad Inman, Xisco and Gabriel Obertan.

Monday's game echoed the visit of Manchester United to Whitley Park in April 2012, when Newcastle raced into a 3-0 lead and were again pegged back to 3-2 by half time. The Red Devils then went on to record a 3-6 victory - the last time that we featured in a nine goal competitive reserve game. 

Biffa