Urawa Red Diamonds manager Per-Mathias Hogmo expressed his gratitude to Newcastle United for agreeing to play his team. Newcastle is in Tokyo for a week-long tour and played the first of two matches against Urawa, winning 4-1 at Saitama Stadium. Alexander Isak scored early, followed by an equalizer from Rio Nitta. Jacob Murphy then scored twice, just before and shortly after halftime, and Lewis Hall added a fourth goal midway through the second half.
Reflecting on the match, Hogmo said, “I’m really happy that we could have Newcastle visit us. I was pleased with our offensive play in the first half. We built up well and created good chances. At 2-1, the score could have been in our favor if things had gone differently. Newcastle’s high-quality shooting punished any mistakes or lack of pressing from us. We need to improve our finishing in the final third, as we had several good opportunities. I told the players that these are the kinds of games we need to play more often. Once again, thank you to Newcastle for coming all the way to Japan.”
Newcastle United writer Jordan Cronin is in Japan providing coverage of the tour, with all stories sponsored by Mobility Care Solutions Ltd and their mascot, Murphy.
