A late penalty from Matt Ritchie saw Newcastle secure an FA Cup third-round replay against Sky Bet Championship Blackburn.

The Magpies looked deflated at the end of the clash against the Championship side on a day in which manager Rafa Benitez made eight changes to the side that lost to Man United earlier this week.

Benitez said, “Some young players playing, some players who have not been playing having 90 minutes under their belts, the reaction of the team after we conceded and Florian Lejeune coming back after four and a half months with a serious injury.

“Those are positives. But then he went on to underline the performance wasn't up for scratch overall.

He said: “Disappointed because we have to play another game. When you play at home, you have to try to finish. We didn't play at the level that I was expecting, but at least the reaction was quite good."