Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was happy with their friendly win against Gateshead.
The Magpies won 3-2 with a near U21 line-up.
Howe said: "It was a really good pre-season game. You want to win, of course, and play well but that was a really good challenge for us. Gateshead were very good, which was no surprise.
"We were a bit rusty.
"The players had a really hard week so we were a bit leggy in that first half, but the character was good and it was important we came back and showed the real us."