Kathleen McGovern is confident ahead of Newcastle United Women's first competitive St James' Park fixture of the season, having scored a hat-trick against Sunday's opponents Burnley in a pre-season friendly. The Scotland international forward is part of a Newcastle side that has made an unbeaten start to the WSL 2 season and will look to stay top of the table against the Clarets.
Pre-season hat-trick and renewed confidence
McGovern scored three times against Burnley in the Magpies' final pre-season friendly ahead of the 2026/27 campaign. Reflecting on that performance, she said: "That was quite a shock to be fair, that the last time I played them I scored a hat-trick. Obviously, it was a great feeling, but it meant nothing in the long run because it was only a pre-season friendly."
She added: "But I guess for my confidence, it was good. I think after that I hit a dip and I think that I'm now starting to find my feet again, which is good. Also, playing at the stadium this weekend, it's a big motivation for me."
Burnley improved since pre-season
McGovern acknowledged that Burnley have strengthened since that meeting. "Burnley have improved a lot since then, they've made signings as well," she explained. "We know it's not going to be the same game this week, but we've done a lot of work on the pitch this week to make sure that we get things right."
Newcastle were beaten 2-0 by Inter Milan in a pre-season friendly at St James' Park, which gave the squad a taste of playing at the stadium. "I think as soon as you see that we're going to play at St James' everyone is buzzing," McGovern said. "A few of us got a taste for it in the pre-season friendly against Inter Milan. It was a great occasion and it was such a good pitch to play on."
Adapting to life at Newcastle
McGovern joined Newcastle from Hibernian, where she scored 51 goals in 65 appearances over two seasons. She described the move as a big adjustment. "It's been different. It's been a big adjustment, to be honest," she said. "The team is doing really well, no matter who's on the pitch. So, it's been good. Obviously, we sit in a good position as well, but it's still early days."
She added: "I think the name itself, for me, was big enough for me to make the move. I think the conversations that I had with the club was really promising. Just the feeling that I got for the city as well, it's nothing that I felt before."
Team spirit and comeback draw
McGovern helped Hibernian win a shock Scottish Women's Premier League title in the 2024/25 season and sees similarities at Newcastle. "I think the togetherness as a team here is just the same as what I had up there," she said. "It's more challenging down here, I would say."
That spirit was evident when Newcastle came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Nottingham Forest, with McGovern's second goal of the campaign sparking the comeback. "We had a need to roll the sleeves up, I felt, in that game and dig in," she said. "We won every first ball, every second ball and it really changed the momentum in the game."
Newcastle Women take on Burnley at St James' Park on Sunday, November 8, with kick-off at 2pm. Tickets start at £11 for adults, £9 for seniors and young persons (18-21) and £5 for children under-18.
