After an even encounter between the two sides in the opening stages of the Division Two clash, the young Magpies trailed before the half-hour mark at Whitley Park following Josh Feeney's bending strike.

The Villans doubled their advantage shortly after the half-time break following Declan Frith's close-range tap in, with Newcastle unable to salvage a positive result in the latter stages of the contest.

With Elliott Dickman leaving the club after a 14-month spell as the Under-21s' Lead Player Development Coach in December, first-team coach Ben Dawson as well as Neil Winskill, Head of Academy Coach Development, oversaw United's second-string and made four changes from the side which claimed a 3-2 win against Crystal Palace in the Premier League Cup three weeks ago.

Goalkeeper Max Thompson replaced Jude Smith in-between the sticks while Jordan Hackett, Jamie Miley and Amadou Diallo replaced Alex Murphy, Jay Turner-Cooke and Lewis Miley respectively.

Dylan Stephenson, who scored for the Magpies' first-team during the Diriyah Season Cup win against Al Hilal in Riyadh last month, squandered an opportunity to open the scoring as his overhead kick attempt inside the box was directed wide of the target before the 20-year-old striker headed over from Jamie Miley's in-swinging free-kick minutes later.

In the 23rd minute, Newcastle fell behind through Feeney's goal as the central defender latched onto a loose ball inside the penalty area, after the United defence were unable to clear the ball to safety, before curling his effort beyond Thompson.

Newcastle full-back Harry Barclay, who signed his first professional contract for his boyhood club last summer, produced a heroic last-ditch block to prevent Tommi O'Reilly from doubling Villa's advantage.

In the second-half, Newcastle were delivered a disappointing blow as Frith extending the Villans' lead in the 49th minute, pounced on a defensive backpass before comfortably firing the ball into an empty net.

Isaac Westendorf, who joined the Magpies' youth set-up in January 2022, was introduced from the substitutes' bench and the Bremen-born forward went close to making an immediate impact, racing onto a lofted pass behind the Villa backline but the striker's powerful drive was pushed away by goalkeeper Oli Zych.

Diallo, who completed a successful trial with the Magpies' under-21 side before linking up with United's second-string for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign in October 2022, aimed to provide a lifeline for his side but the 19-year-old's teasing free-kick from the edge of the box was held by Zych.

Newcastle's second-string, currently three points adrift of the play-off spots in eighth place, return to Premier League 2 action on Friday, 13th January when they take on their Southampton counterparts at The Snows Stadium, home of AFC Totton (kick-off 7pm GMT).

Newcastle United Under-21s: Max Thompson, Harry Barclay, Niall Brookwell (c), Charlie Wiggett, Jordan Hackett, Nathan Carlyon, Jamie Miley (Kyle Crossley 77), Josh Scott, Amadou Diallo, James Huntley, Dylan Stephenson (Isaac Westendorf 59). 

Subs not used: Will Brown, Michael Ndiweni, Cameron Ferguson.