There were positives aplenty for United manager Brian McDermott to take away from Wednesday’s Capital One Cup third round defeat at Newcastle United.

Around 6,000 Leeds fans packed one end of St James’ Park as the Premier League side recorded a 2-0 victory to progress in the competition.

“I thought we played really well in the first half,” said the boss. “There were a lot of good things that came out of the game.

“It’s all about both boxes. Their first goal we should have done better and their second was a great finish, but we had opportunities. We hit the bar, and we had a definite penalty. That was disappointing.

“The crowd were unbelievable. They saw us trying to play and do the right things and there was a lot to be positive about. Their support was fantastic. I said to Ross at the end we have to give them something because they deserve something. We’ll dust ourselves down and go again.

“That game was never going to be easy. We gave a good account of ourselves and if we could have got that first goal, who knows what could have happened.

“That effort by Ross was real class. We had other opportunities with Matt Smith and it could have been different. Like I say, I thought we should have had a penalty. Matt was bowled over. It was a certain penalty and because he’s six foot four he didn’t give it.”