Newcastle United beat Tottenham Hotspur on penalties after friendly draw…

Newcastle United defeated Tottenham Hotspur on penalties after the two teams drew 1-1 in a postseason friendly in Melbourne.

Only three days after the Premier League season ended, Spurs’ James Maddison opened the scoring before Newcastle’s Alexander Isak leveled toward the conclusion of the first half.

A penalty shootout was therefore required to determine the friendly winner, and an early miss from Bryan Gil proved costly, as Eddie Howe’s men remained faultless from 12 yards to win.

Despite a long season and jet lag, both Ange Postecoglou and Howe fielded solid starting XIs, with Maddison, Son Heung-min, Isak, and Bruno Guimaraes taking the field from the outset.

Nick Pope was also chosen as Newcastle’s goalkeeper, but it was his terrible pass out of the back that allowed Maddison to rifle in the game’s first goal from close range.

However, the Magpies equalized in the 45th minute thanks to an attack down the right, as Bruno Guimaraes released Jacob Murphy, whose ball across the six-yard box was pushed into Isak’s path by Brandon Austin.

Spurs controlled the second half, with no less than 24 substitutes, but Howe’s men held out for a penalty shootout, with Gil taking the opening shot for Tottenham and having it saved by Mark Gillespie.

Joe White, Dane Scarlett, Ben Parkinson, Jamie Donley, Amadou Diallo, Tyrese Hall, Garang Kuol, and Oliver Skipp all scored for their respective teams until Harrison Ashby sealed Newcastle’s meaningless victory.

While Tottenham is now on a two-month hiatus before facing Vissel Kobe in a pre-season friendly on July 27, Newcastle returns to action on Friday against an A-League All Stars team.