5 Heroes (And 5 Villains) From Sacramento Republic 0-1 Newcastle
4. Freddie Woodman
From one goalkeeper to another - Woodman, who replaced Krul for the second-half, was brilliant between the sticks. He may be slight of figure and not the tallest stopper in the world, but the 18-year-old looked mature beyond his years at Bonney Field. Keeping out a couple of long-rangers in the immediate aftermath of Newcastle's goal, Woodman was only beaten at the third attempt in one passage of play - and even that was rightly ruled out for offside. Son of goalkeeping coach Andy, the England youth stopper has been tracked by a number of Premier League clubs and, despite struggling at Gateshead in the first match of pre-season, it is easy to see why Newcastle hold such high hopes for the youngster. With Woodman in this sort of form, it is difficult to see a future for Rob Elliot on Tyneside.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.