With club football on pause at the moment due to the October international break, Newcastle under-21s' National League Trophy exploits were always going to take on extra significance.
And exciting youngster Sean Neave took full advantage of the extra attention surrounding the young Magpies by scoring a hat-trick in their 3-1 win over National League side Boston United.
The competition, which pits National League sides against professional under-21 teams playing in Premier League 2, was launched last season with Newcastle losing out in the quarter-finals against Altrincham on penalties.
And they have made a positive start to this season's competition, backing up a 4-3 win over Gateshead in August with a second win over the Pilgrims.
With the top two teams advancing from an eight team group, Neave and co will be keen to punch their ticket in the quarter-finals and gain more experience of playing senior football.
And after bagging a hat-trick at the Jakemans Community Stadium, Neave feels the experience he is gaining at senior level is building his confidence.
"It was a top performance from the team," Neave told the club website after the win over the Lincolnshire outfit.
"We knew it would be a tough game coming into it. Last year, we came here and got beat so it means a lot to the team to be able to come here and win this time, especially getting a hat-trick.
"I went a few games without scoring which was affected me a little bit but when I scored the penalty, I was getting my confidence back and it was good to score three goals.
"I never change my mind with a penalty! For the second goal, I made a good run through the middle and showed composure to dummy the defender and score across the keeper and then, for the third goal, it was another good run through the middle and showed composure when one-on-one with the goalkeeper."
Neave was promoted to the first team squad last season and found himself on the bench on nine occasions across all competitions - including the Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool.
The 18-year-old was among the celebrations at full-time at Wembley and was rewarded with some game-time during pre-season.
Eddie Howe is a big fan of the young forward and has described him as a 'genuine goalscorer' who was able to compete technically with the Magpies' first-team stars.
But the Newcastle coach has also outlined what he needs to do to make that definitive step from youth level to first team level.
"He's doing really well," Howe said last season.
"He's very young - and I need reminding of that sometimes because he is competing on an even field technically with our senior players. Physically, he has a lot of growth to come, and has to fill out in his body in order to become stronger.
"Now, it's probably about finding him a set position. We have used him in various roles, but what I will say is that he's a genuine goalscorer. We find that, in training and practice games, he will pop up with a goal - which is a great skill to have."
Neave boasts a very good record across Newcastle's under-18, 19 and 21 sides, scoring 29 goals and registering 11 assists across 60 appearances.
The Winlaton-born forward is expected to remain around the club for the rest of this season as Howe continues to monitor his development ahead of possible future first-team opportunities.