Chopra 'devastation' on Newcastle debut

Michael Chopra says his debut for Newcastle was "a dream come true" but swiftly became a nightmare when he missed his kick in a penalty shootout.

Speaking on the latest Total Sport Newcastle United podcast, Chopra said: "It was amazing. I'd worked so hard to get to this point. I knew leading up to the game I was going to be on the bench - John Carver was telling me I had a great chance of featuring."

"I had all my family there watching, and to actually come on and play my first game in front of thousands of fans at St James' Park wearing the black and white stripes - my dream had come true.

"I'd go to sleep every night thinking when's this chance going to happen. The sacrifices I'd made up until this point were worthwhile.

"It didn't end up to be the right result I wanted. It went to a penalty shootout and being a Geordie and wanting to be a hero I put my hand up to take one - and I missed.

"In the changing room after, I was standing in the shower, devastated, crying my eyes out and I remember Alan [Shearer] came in and said 'Chops don't worry about it. What you've got is a lot of bottle. We've got players out there that we signed for 12 million and they didn't want to take one - how do you think I felt when I missed against Sunderland?'

"For him to come down from the box to the changing room and do that - it was a big thing for me. That was one of the things that stuck in my mind."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds