Attendance : 22,982 in a 67,144 capacity arena, by far the smallest turnout for a football match since the round ball was first seen here in 2004. Serves the robbers right.

Given the proximity to Tyneside, it's no shock that the Newcastle support was far greater than that of Everton, although a surprising number of regular away Toon travellers didn't bother attending.

The upper tier of the stadium remained closed, but despite that, slow entry at the turnstiles saw queues build pre-match. A time lag in digital tickets being processed seem to contribute to that.

Although continuing to plug tickets from the season ticket pre-sale on May 28th until matchday, NUFC weren't selling them and consequently, no loyalty point was issued.

As was the case for previous overseas pre-season kickabouts including 2023's USA Premier League Summer Series, Ticketmaster handled all sales. Quite how slow sales were isn't known, but that can be gauged by price slashing around a week before the game: £37 places were available for £25.

The Scotsman newspaper then reported codes circulating from Ticketmaster via social media hours before kick-off to obtain free match tickets hours - a desperate late bid to get bums on seats. 

The kick-off time at least meant a day trip became more feasible and several trains to England ran post-match, offsetting the high cost of accommodation due to the Festival, Military Tattoo etc.

Said festival brought thousands of visitors into the city, but were most unaware that a football match was taking place, preferring to patronise fringe events such as, "I'm not a terrorist - I'm Freddie Mercury" and "A foot is not an appropriate prize for the Tombola."

The game also clashed with first day of term for some local schools, which may have affected the numbers of curious locals turning up, along with the rival attraction of the eclipse.

Kevin Nolan was here on pitchside punditry duty, while Duncan Ferguson also attended.

Sporting Director Ross Wilson was present: while this game was taking place, the Benfica squad flew into the nearby airport ahead of their Europa League tie at Hearts the following night. Included in that party was transfer target Amar Dedic, with the defender starting the game at Tynecastle.

The precise reason for staging this game here wasn't divulged by either club, doing nothing to end speculation that this was a so-called "dry run" for NUFC to test the viability of using Murrayfield in the event that building works at SJP made it impossible or unviable to play there in the future.

Certainly, the event was tilted towards the Magpies, who used the home dressing room. The teams then emerged the strains of Local Hero theme "Going Home" played by local piper Alastair Leonard. Visit Malta were the main commercial partner tonight and also for next weekend's games at SJP.

Organisers TEG were responsible for previous prodigiously-priced overseas kickabouts involving NUFC and we understand had punted the idea of a Murrayfield friendly in recent seasons. Instead, the club had agreed to long haul trips; something that was less attractive in a World Cup Final year.

As to whether Murrayfield could be a substitute for SJP in the future, given that decamping to wearside or Teesside is out of the question, it seems unlikely to us on several levels.

Fitting a minimum of 19 Premier League games (or 23 in the Championship) seems a big ask, given the short turnarounds in fixture scheduling caused by TV companies. Add in other games and the logistics start to become overwhelming: last season there were 32 first team games at SJP.

The availability of Murrayfield when rugby matches are scheduled there is a crucial consideration, along with close proximity to the Hearts ground leading to fixture clashes. It's hard to see Police Scotland being receptive to the idea of the Old Firm playing in Edinburgh at the same time as our supporters and those of our opponents are in the vicinity.

The fact that Edinburgh is a year-round international tourist destination would affect the logistics of playing at Murrayfield, with festive markets, Hogmanay celebrations etc. all bringing in visitors.

There's also a world of difference between playing football matches on a warm July teatime and a wet Monday in December: the latter seeing a completely different set of supporters involved on a school/work night and transportation becoming a massive factor for punters and players alike.

Scottish Mags know only too well the travel problems they routinely encounter when attempting to reach SJP by road and rail. The A1 is barely fit for purpose as it is now; any influx of traffic would inevitably lead to congestion and more accidents. Work associated with long-promised dualing of the route meanwhile would only add to the traffic issues, were it ever to happen. 

The rail line continues to be closed regularly at weekends for planned work, with the unenviable choice of an elongated journey via Carlisle...or a rail replacement bus service up and down the A1.

PS: approached for comment this week by media outlets, a Scottish Rugby spokesperson said:

"Whilst we are always open to conversations, as it currently stands there have not been any conversations with Newcastle United regarding them using Scottish Gas Murrayfield as a temporary home."
 

Possible sponsor for home match hydration breaks?