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Date: Wednesday 31st July 2024, 7.30pm local
Live on NUFC TV (£24.95 for full pre-season coverage, £14.99 for ST
holders/members)
Venue:
Saitama Stadium
Conditions: Blossoming
Tickets: £26 adults (NUFC pre-sale allocation)
Programme: none
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Urawa |
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Newcastle |
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1 - 4 |
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Teams |
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3 mins Alexander
Isak
shot. 1-0
23 mins Nitta shot. 1-1
(30 mins Nick Pope penalty save from Ito)
45 mins Jacob Murphy
shot. 2-1
Half time: Diamonds 1 Magpies 2
47 mins
Jacob Murphy
shot. 3-1
58 mins Lewis
Hall deflected shot. 4-1
Full time: Diamonds 1 Magpies
4
Eddie Howe
said:
"It was really hard conditions for the lads today, I was sweating
just watching. That will have done us the world of good.
I thought the lads did really well to
execute what we wanted to do. Four good goals; not a perfect defensive
performance from us so work to do there but overall very happy, yeah.
"It's not just the heat and that is the travelling. The travelling here is
very very difficult for the players too. You can manage the flight but then how
do you feel two days afterwards to give your best performance in these
conditions?
"Very difficult and it's a mental test more than anything and again we
passed that test and I think we've come back from this game stronger.
"I've thought it was a patchy
performance to be honest but I've explained the reasons why that's there.
There's some really good bits there's some stuff we need to work on but it never
stops does it? That's always the case no matter how you play.
"It was a good game, really good conditions for us to improve our fitness
levels: a very hot and humid day. By kick off, it was a little bit cooler
for the players which certainly helped us. Lots to improve on but I thought
mentally we could not complain about the players."
On Alexander Isak:
"I thought he was very, very good tonight. He was electric, looked like he
was hungry for goals. I think his game can go up (to another level). I
think there are areas to improve. We'll always find those percentages to try and
add to his game.
"We work continuously with him, in partnership with him, really. We've got
a really good relationship with him. We're trying to find new ways to score more
goals, or help the team in different ways. Really pleased with his application
today."
On Jacob Murphy:
"Jacob's having a good pre-season. He looks sharp, and motivated to help
the team. He is tactically a very, very dependable player (who) can do different
things depending on what the game requires. So we are really happy with
him."
On Joe Willock:
"I think Joe will be the first to admit that there is more to come. He's
been training over a period of time but there is nothing like games. You can see
his qualities. The assist for the first goal, the breaks from midfield, the
energetic box-to-box ability - he's a goal threat and goal creator as well.
"Massive player: we've missed him and that was his first steps back
today."
On Bruno Guimaraes:
"We saw the boost he gave the group to have him back with us for the first
time on the training pitch. He’s been a galvanising player for us in the last
two years.
"I speak on behalf of everybody when I say I want to see Bruno on the pitch
wearing a black and white shirt, happy, content and absolutely ready to drive
the team forward again."
On further player acquisitions:
"I’ve got no idea how close things are. I hope so. We’re working hard
to try and make that happen.
"I never like to discuss positions because I don’t think it’s right for
the players that you have that are fighting for those positions, but of course
we’re taking a look at the squad, we’re analysing every player and every
position and we’ll try and strengthen the squad by the time the window
shuts."
Norwegian-born
coach Per-Mathias Hogmo said:
"I'm very happy to be able to welcome
Newcastle to our home field today.
"I'm satisfied with our offensive performance
in the first half. We were able to create chances by connecting well from the
build-up. It was 1-2 at halftime, but it would not have been strange if it had
been 2-1.
"This was the first time this season that almost all of our players
were able to play, so I was happy about that. It was a short game, but almost
all of our players were able to play.
"I think we saw today's benchmark for the
quality we need to have at the end. If we make a mistake or don't press enough,
that quality will be used and we will pay the price. As for the quality of our
shots, we created enough chances but didn't score, so we need to improve the
quality of our attacks and the quality when we get into the final third.
"I've told the players that we want to play as
many international matches as possible before next year's Club World Cup. I'd
like to thank Newcastle for coming all the way to Japan today.
"We talked about showing our identity in attack. We then
challenged the players on the quality of our defense, including blocking shots. By playing against a team of this level, I
think we were able to see our strengths as well as areas that we definitely need
to improve on.
"It was a game that gave us a lot of answers. There are 14 league
games left, but I'm glad we were able to play such a game one week before the
restart (of the J League season)."
Pre-season pitch time (in minutes):
Almiron 45=45
Barnes 45+64+79=188 +1 goal
Burn 45+90+79=214
Charlton 0+5=5
Emerson 45+16=61
Hall 45+85+90=220 + 1 goal
Al.Harrison 45+26+20=91
Heffernan 45+0+11=56
Isak 45+64+61=170 +3 goals
Joelinton 45+64+90=199
Krafth 45+90+90=225
Kuol 45+0=45
Lewis 45+74=119
Livramento 0+64+70=134
S.Longstaff 45+0+45=90
J.Miley 45+79+45=169
Munda 0+16=16
J.Murphy 45+74+70=189 +4 goals
Parkinson 45+26+29=100
Pope 45+74+61=180
Ruddy 0+0+0=0
Sanusi 45+26+11=82
Shahar 45=45
Stanton 45+11=56
C.Thompson 0+0=0
Turner-Cooke 45+26+20=91
Vlachodimos 45+16+29=90
White 45=45
Willock 0+0+45=45
Nine players travelled to Japan but weren't selected in todays' 20 man
matchday squad: Dubravka, M. Thompson, Gillespie, Ashby, Lewis, Schar, Kelly,
Tonali, Guimaraes.
Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon remain on extended leave while Lewis Miley, Sven
Botman, Jamaal Lascelles, Callum Wilson, Matt Targett and
Joe White stayed in the UK due to injury.
Garang Kuol, Ellis Stanton, Dylan
Charlton, Johnny Emerson, Anthony Munda and Ciaran Thompson weren't on the plane
to Tokyo after featuring at Hull last Saturday.
This is Newcastle's third-ever visit to Japan and their sixth game in the country:
1982/83 Japan XI (a) (Tokyo) won 4-0 Waddle 2, Keegan, Clarke
1982/83 Syria XI (n) (Okayama) drew 1-1 McCreery
1982/83 Yamaha Motor (a) (Nagoya) won 1-0 Waddle
1982/83 Botafogo (n) (Tokyo) drew 0-0
1996/97 Gamba Osaka (a) (Osaka) lost 1-3 Ferdinand
2024/25 Urawa (a) (Saitama) won 4-1 J.Murphy 2, Isak, Hall
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Waffle |
Following expeditions to the USA and Australia last season, the latest leg of
Newcastle's global tour saw them reach Japan for two kickabouts in the Toyko
area.
Awaiting them were two domestic top-flight clubs about to embark on the final
third of their J League season; Urawa sitting tenth in the 20 team competition
and Yokohama one place below.
The opening game took place in the city of Saitama, around 50 miles to the north
of the capital. Rain showers relented before kick-off, when the temperature was 26 degrees with 90% humidity.
Nine of the starting eleven at Hull on Saturday lined up again four days and
5,800 miles later - Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff appearing at the expense of
Jamal Lewis and Jamie Miley.
Barely two minutes had elapsed when the returning Willock made his first notable
contribution of the evening, combining with Harvey Barnes on the halfway line to set Isak
away. The Swede outwitted a trio of
Urawa players before firing home his third goal in as many games with typical
panache.
Confusion in the home defence then almost let Willock in for an immediate
second; Barnes sending a first-time effort towards the unguarded goal only for a
Urawa player to make a timely block.
Fleeting fears that Willock's return from injury would be blighted were eased
when he withstood a collision that left him sprawled on the floor in front of
the home dugouts. However the midfielder was quickly on his feet after an
application of magic spray.
The home side levelled midway through the opening period, Yusuke Matsuo
finding space down the left flank and sending over a low centre that the
unmarked Rio Nitta back-heeled past Pope - a pre-arranged water break then
delaying the restart.
Chances at both ends saw a Barnes shot deflected on to the post before Tino Livramento tripped Hirokazu Ishihara just outside the Newcastle area
and the local referee kindly awarded a penalty.
Justice was done however when Diamonds captain Atsuki Ito was denied by Pope,
who dived to his right to block an effort that was at a favourable height.
Had the scores stayed that way, a penalty shootout would have
determined the winner of a game played as part of the J League International
Series, consisting of ourselves and Stuttgart each playing two
different home sides.
The Germans won 5-3 against Kyoto and defeated Hiroshima 5-2 - whether the 2024 equivalent of a big blue vase is at stake
if we win our second game by three clear goals is unclear though....
(Spurs and Brighton have also played here in recent days, but in unrelated
kickabouts).
The black and whites regained their lead late in the first half, Willock
dispossessing the dawdling Ito deep in the Urawa half and bursting forward
towards goal. Riding a tackle on the edge of the box, he laid off a pass for the
overlapping Murphy, who found the bottom corner of the net from 10 yards.
Murphy added his fourth of pre-season just two minutes after the
restart, taking a pass from newly arrived substitute Jamie Miley and netting
with a low looping left-footer.
Lewis Hall's long-range effort just before the hour took a big deflection off
the head of Yota Sato en route to goal for 4-1, after which the volume of replacements and
the energy-sapping conditions contributed to an unremarkable closing passage of
play and just one added minute.
A successful evening on the field for United saw no injuries and conditions that
embodied those cliches from meaningless matches about minutes in the legs and
good workouts.
The hosts also treated it as a glorified training exercise; no less than four of
their second half substitutes themselves replaced and one player getting his
first pitch time since 2021.
In the stands also, the flag-waving, brand-building exercise was enhanced by
Newcastle wearing their home kit rather than the white and green third ensemble
unveiled in Toyko the previous day. In the absence of silverware to brandish,
other visible hooks are needed to aid awareness - and revenues.
Ticket sales and TV rights for this game aren't showstoppers on their own and
selling kits in a Toyko shopping centre won't fund Anthony Gordon's new
contract, but at least they were there to buy.
Contrast that to the 2023 USA pre-season, when Chelsea tour merchandise choked
the concession stands in the grounds next to an empty space where the Newcastle
shirts should have been until the last of our three Summer Series games.
And even that shirt launch was a departure for the club; the only equivalent in
the Mike Ashley era an embarrassed Jamaal Lascelles appearing in the Dublin
Sports Direct store to a handful of fans who defied the lack of publicity.
No-key, rather than low-key.
For those exiles and new converts to the cause present tonight though, the scoreline and
the shirt design was rather less important than witnessing a first
appearance in Japan for almost 30 years.
Biffa
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