Levein happy with Magpies draw

03 August 2009 07:20
Dundee United manager Craig Levein watched his side come from behind to draw against Newcastle then claimed his side are ready for their Premier League campaign which starts in a fortnight. The challenge match at Tannadice was organised to mark the Tannadice club's 100 years of existence and the couple of thousand Geordies who made the journey north of the border, many of whom were still outside when the game began, added to the occasion. Andrew Carroll's strike on the hour mark, after Terrors' keeper Stevie Banks had dropped the ball at his feet, gave the visitors the lead. Toon keeper Steve Harper then saved a Danny Swanson penalty five minutes later after Kevin Nolan had handled in the box. However, when the home side were awarded a second penalty five minutes from the end, when Ryan Taylor pulled at Craig Conway, David Goodwillie sent Harper the wrong way. Levein was in an up-beat mood after the game, saying: "It was a worthwhile exercise and it was a decent enough game. It is getting close to the season so while the result wasn't important we didn't want to get beat. "But I thought we had a good pre-season last season and we were bottom of the league after five games, so I'm not the best judge!"

Source: Eurosport