Newcastle United to face Saints in pre-season encounter

St. Patrick’s Athletic will host English Premier League side Newcastle United in Richmond Park on Tuesday July 17^th (kick-off 7.45pm).

Newcastle United, who finished 10^th last season, will kick-off their pre-season preparations for the 2018/19 season with a visit to Carton House for a week-long training camp starting on the 11^th July.

This will be the third visit of the Magpies to the Irish training facilities which has previously welcomed the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, Birmingham, AC Milan and the British and Irish Lions.

The week’s camp will conclude with a fixture against the Saints in Inchicore. Rafael Benitez side will then travel to Hull City (24 July – KCOM Stadium), FC Porto (28^th July – Estadio do Dragao) and conclude their pre-season campaign with a home friendly against German side FC Augsburg.

The Pats clash will take place two days after the 2018 World Cup final and will precede the Saints facing Limerick in the League of Ireland three days later.

Newcastle have made two previous visits to Ireland in recent years. In 2016, the side faced Bohemians in Dalymount Park as they emerged 6-0 winners over the Gypsies. Seven years previous to that, they defeated Shamrock Rovers 3-0 in Tallaght Stadium.

Speaking to stpatsfc.com about the prospect of facing the English Premier League side, Saints’ manager Liam Buckley expressed his happiness at the news. 

“We are all delighted to be in a position to welcome Newcastle United to Richmond Park.  We understand that Rafael Benitez will be preparing his side ahead of the beginning of their season in August so we know they will be looking for a good test of their fitness and match sharpness.

“From our side of things, we are delighted to play a top opposition and test ourselves against them as we look to stay sharp in the middle of our own season.  It’s great for the local area of Inchicore too that a side of the calibre of Newcastle United are going to be visiting so we are looking forward to hopefully seeing a big crowd in Richmond Park.”

Ticket information for the fixture will be announced next week.