Harper's red card messages and Murphy impresses as nine-man Newcastle U21s lose again - three things

Newcastle United U21s were reduced to nine men and suffered a second straight loss this season following a narrow home defeat to Stoke City. Ben Kershaw's stunning early strike proved to be the only goal of the contest, with Magpies duo Matty Bondswell and Michael Ndiweni both dismissed for second bookable offences.

Elliott Dickman named two changes from the side who suffered a heartbreaking late defeat at West Brom in their season opener. Summer signing Jordan Hackett and goalscorer on the night Ndiweni both made starts, with Charlie Wiggett dropping to the bench and Josh Scott not included in the matchday squad.

However, the hosts fell behind to a sensational effort from summer signing Kershaw. One of five Stoke debutants on the night, the forward cleverly chested down a clearance before rifling his effort beyond Max Thompson from the edge of the box.

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Ndiweni was sent off shortly after the restart for a challenge on visiting goalkeeper Blondy Nna Noukeu, while Bondswell was then given his marching orders for a ill-judged slide tackle with 19 minutes remaining. Here are three things we learned as Newcastle U21s were beaten by their Stoke City counterparts.

Newcastle's first summer signing made his competitive home debut on Monday night, and delivered an assured display. The Magpies saw off competition from Brighton and West Brom to land the highly-rated defender.

Murphy initially partnered captain Niall Brookwell in the heart of defence, and looked composed in possession. But more importantly in the first-half, the teenager read the game well to make a number of timely interceptions and tackles.

Dara McGuiness looked set to quickly