Anthony Gordon's half-time England message that hints at Newcastle United attitude

There were plenty of new experiences at Wembley on Sunday night for Newcastle United's international stars. Tino Livramento won his first senior England cap, Lewis Hall started his first game for the Three Lions after making his debut in midweek, and Anthony Gordon bagged his first goal for his country in the 5-0 win over Ireland.

But for all it was a night to remember for the three Magpies in England colours, there was one factor which would have been very familiar to the trio and many of their team-mates. England had to break down an Ireland side who were happy to sit deep and defend, especially in the first half, looking to deny talented playmakers like Gordon, Jude Bellingham and Noni Madueke any space.

They did it well too, until Liam Scales was shown a red card on 51 minutes for a second bookable offence, giving away a penalty in the process. Harry Kane made no mistake from 12 yards and from there the floodgates opened, with Gordon, Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis finding the net in what turned out to be a comfortable victory.

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For Gordon, Livramento and Hall, seeing teams sit back and try to frustrate is nothing new. It's something they've had to get used to at Newcastle as all but the very top sides come to St James' Park with that in mind. Even Brighton, known for the free-flowing, attacking football, do so earlier this season - and earned a 1-0 win.

Gordon was naturally delighted to bag his first goal for his country, but revealed a telling half-time message to his team-mates which relfects the determination in the United squad to stick to their principles in the face of determined resistence.

“It’s better late than never," the United winger said. "It’s definitely about time! It was a good feeling to see it hit the net. I got to enjoy it with some of the lads that I have come through the England setup with, that made it a bit more special.

“I think Lee (Carsley) deserves a lot of credit, he fills us with so much confidence. Ireland made it really hard. They were defending with 11 players behind the ball, but I said to the lads that they can't keep up that running for 90 minutes, it isn’t possible.”

United could face a similar challenge against West Ham and Crystal Palace in their next two Premier League fixtures, with both scrapping for points after a difficult start to the season. However, after overcoming Chelsea, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, confidence will be high in the Newcastle camp that they can break them down and continue their positive form.