The young Magpies returned to winning ways in the Premier League 2 as Amadou Diallo’s penalty proved the difference, winning and converting the spot-kick on the stroke of half-time on a rain-soaked afternoon at United’s Little Benton Academy.
The hosts then held firm against their Toffees counterparts to record their first league clean sheet of the 2023/24 campaign, moving into 15th place of the 26-team division in the process, with Dawson reflecting positively on the squad’s result from both an offensive and defensive point of view.
“The level of performance as well as their application and preparation for the game was really good,” Dawson told nufc.co.uk. "We could’ve and should’ve had the game put to bed in the first half and I think at that point, when you come into the break one-nil up, the job’s not done and you need to maintain that.
“They started brightly at the start of the second half so I’m really pleased that we managed to stay solid, compact and see the game out.
“I think the goal was more for confidence and belief. We had loads of the ball, lots of opportunities and great positions where we'd get into on a regular basis. We practice every week at them and sometimes you need a bit of luck for one of those to go in and confidence builds.
“That didn’t come in open play but it seemed like the penalty, from our angle, was a stonewall. Amadou is full of confidence at the best of times and I think he was the only one ever going to take it and it was a great finish. The timing of it, just before half-time, probably changed their team-talk a little bit as well as ours but was pleased to get in front.
“There’s been other matches where we’ve went ahead and haven’t managed to see it out for whatever reason. Sometimes, it’s through individual errors or mistakes on our behalf or it’s just good play from our opposition.
"We’re now playing in a league with all the top teams and with that comes the quality of opposition so I’m pleased we’ve managed the game well, particularly towards the end and restricting them to playing more direct and being more predictable for us."
With just one loss in their last seven competitive matches, a narrow penalty shoot-out defeat against League One side Port Vale after a 1-1 draw in the EFL Trophy, Dawson is hopeful Newcastle’s second-string can continue their bright form of late ahead of Friday’s Premier League 2 trip to Leicester City.
“I think more than anything else, other than confidence, there’s a bit more about momentum," he added. "We’ve had some positive performances, not necessarily having the results to match in recent weeks. Today, we got the performance and result and, hopefully, the lads can build on it and keep the momentum going into Friday.
“Whilst we’re working on things from an attacking point of view, we’re working defensively every week as well. As much as you want the attacking players to be full of confidence going into games because we’ve scored and won then, similarly, we want the defence to be the same with a clean sheet and victory.
"Going into the next one, hopefully, the lads at the back can find another level and go again."
