Youth coach Tony Philliskirk felt his players bagged the result they deserved as they saw off the challenge of Rotherham at Boundary Park last night.

A brace from 16-year-old forward Tom Eaves secured a dream Third Round trip to Newcastle United as Athletic bossed the game on home turf.

The youngsters could have come away with an even bigger win had they taken chances, and Philliskirk was full of praise for his players.

"Although we made it more difficult than we could have done, we definitely deserved the result and could have had more goals with a little more composure in the final third," he said.

"We were pretty much in control of the game throughout.  There were a couple of hairy moments defending set-pieces, but at the end of the day big Josh [Ollerenshaw] hasn't had a save to make.

"I'm pleased for Tom [Eaves] getting a couple of goals, but the main thing is we've now got the reward of going to play Newcastle at St. James' in the next round.

"Everyone played their part and there were a number of excellent performances.  From one to eleven everyone did an excellent job.  We were very well drilled and disciplined, particularly in the second half when Rotherham played with four up front.

"We had a goal-setting session during four days at Lilleshall before the season started, and our goal then was to get to the third round of the FA Youth Cup and hopefully draw a big team."

Athletic travel to St. James' Park in early December looking to topple one of football's powerhouses in what would surely be one of the biggest Youth Cup shocks for years.

And the gaffer will travel back up to his native north east with his own, very personal, motives.  He explained:

"To be able to face Newcastle at St. James' Park is fantastic, but we won't be going there just for the ride.  We will be going up there to try and win the game.

"This will be a different challenge because we were expected to win in the first two rounds.  We'll go up there with no pressure on us, enjoy ourselves and hopefully put in a good performance.

"I'm a Sunderland supporter and was born and bred there, so maybe I'll be wearing a Sunderland shirt under my Oldham jumper!

"In every round there's always one shock result, so why can't that be us?"