While Saturday night was a tough one for Newcastle United, it was special for a couple of the club's academy players.

Eddie Howe's squad was so stretched that he had to call upon multiple youngsters for the trip to Bournemouth, where his side were beaten 2-0 courtesy of a Dominic Solanke brace.

The Newcastle bench was incredibly inexperienced, with three out of nine players never actually making a competitive appearance for the club.

But that changed on Saturday night, with 18-year-old Ben Parkinson making his debut off the bench. He was given the nod by Eddie Howe, who brought him on to replace Lewis Miley, having started his first ever Premier League game at the age of 17.

Parkinson led the line for Newcastle during the final 25 minutes. It was a brutal experience for the teenager, who barely got a kick. By the time he came on, Bournemouth were dominating and Newcastle were drowning. Parkinson was put in a helpless situation, with Howe just needing fresh legs no matter what.

It was a tough night overall for the club, but that should not detract from what Parkinson achieved. No matter the result, he made his senior debut as a professional footballer. That will have been an incredibly proud moment for him and his family.

MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES

He wrote: "A dream come true making my Premier League debut for my boyhood club."

The 18-year-old was showered with messages following the post, with various Toon youngsters such as Lewis Miley, Jamie Miley, Amadou Diallo and Alex Murphy congratulating him on a special moment.

There was also a message from Liverpool player Bobby Clark, who left Newcastle to sign for the Reds in 2021.

He replied: "Congrats lad."

Hopefully the first of many for the Newcastle teenager It will be great if we can see more of Parkinson in the coming years.

While it was really nice to see him make his Premier League debut, we did not really get a chance to truly see what he is capable of.

He will hopefully get more opportunities to do that in the future, in games where Newcastle aren't quite as depleted. It was a difficult situation to come on in, as the youngster had no real chance to make a difference and express himself.

No matter what, Saturday will live long in the memory for Parkinson, who joined the long list of players who have played a professional game for Newcastle United. And to do it as a boyhood Toon fan makes it even more special.