K League XI 1-0 Newcastle: Magpies lose third pre-season friendly in a row in South Korea

Newcastle lost their third successive pre-season friendly on Wednesday, beaten 1-0 by an impressive K League XI in South Korea.

A miserable evening was compounded late on too when Joe Willock was stretchered off with an apparent ankle injury, adding to an increasingly frustrating summer for Eddie Howe.

The Magpies had named a similar XI to the one that lost 3-2 to Arsenal at the weekend, but were without a number of regular first team players, including Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes – who were on the bench – and the absent Alexander Isak.

It will perhaps be some consolation for Newcastle, who looked a step behind their opponents throughout. The K League are in the middle of their domestic season, with the amalgamated team looking sharper going forward.

Dong-gyeong Lee was the K League XI’s star in the first half, having numerous chances, but Newcastle’s summer signing Anthony Elanga also went close with the Magpies’ first shot on target. However, his effort was fingertipped onto the crossbar by the goalkeeper.

The K League made the deserved breakthrough in the 36th minute. Jin-gyu Kim kept his cool over on the left, finding his space before arrowing an effort into the top far corner.

While the hosts still looked dangerous on the break, Newcastle had the better of the chances in the second half but could not find the equaliser.

Will Osula – the only senior striker in the squad in Isak’s absence – had a string of missed chances, sending efforts at the goalkeeper or firing wide. Late on, Anthony Gordon also lashed an effort past the post.

Newcastle’s evening got worse on the stroke of the 90 minutes when Willock, while going in for a challenge with Cesinha, took a whack to the ankle. He immediately called for the medics while clutching his foot, before being taken off on a stretcher.

The result will go down as a huge victory for the South Korean side, while Newcastle add another loss to their list after defeats to Celtic and Arsenal in recent weeks. They next play Tottenham in Seoul on Sunday.