Newcastle 1 Brighton 1
The season had started off full of dreams of Champions League football and trips to some of the biggest clubs in Europe. It had all derailed somewhat for The Magpies but their recent form had seen them put pressure on the clubs above them for European places once again.
Brighton were the visitors to St James’ Park, who themselves had struggled to juggle domestic and European football this season. They wanted to finish their season on a high, knowing victory would put them within touching distance of the sides above them.
It was a positive start by Roberto De Zerbi’s side as they played some nice football and forced an early corner. As the ball was swung in, Veltman slotted home to send the visiting fans wild. Brighton have struggled for goals all too often this season.
Newcastle almost found an equaliser as Gordon’s corner picked out Longstaff in the box. His header was well blocked by Verbruggen in the visitors’ goal. The party atmosphere had been seriously dampened by The Seagulls’ early goal.
Credit: @premierleague
Not many sides come to the North East and manage to come away with all three points. De Zerbi knew his side would have to dig deep if they were going to hold onto their lead. In some respects, their best form of defence was to attack.
Adingra had plenty of space to run into down the left. As he got into the box, he picked out Enciso with a cross but he got his header terribly wrong. It was a massive chance to double their lead and the Paraguayan should have at the very least, been hitting the target.
They paid the ultimate price as Gordon continued to cause problems. He found Anderson in the box, who laid it on a plate for Longstaff to stab home. St James’ Park erupted into a cauldron of noise once again as they equalised in added time at the end of the half.
You know things are going well when you see the fake tan and ‘Turkey teeth’ of the assistant manager out on the touchline punching the air. Eddie Howe was a little more reserved as he plotted how his side would go on to win this game.
Into the second half and Isak got away down the right flank and played a sublime ball in behind the defence for Gordon. Lamptey slid in to cut it out and his intervention almost went in but Verbruggen did well to tip it over the crossbar.
As the hosts tried to find a winning goal, substitute Barnes had a great chance at the far post but side footed his effort straight at the Brighton keeper. It was a good chance poorly executed by the former Leicester City winger. Another warning for The Seagulls that they could not switch off in defence.
Credit: @NUFC
Newcastle thought they had found a winner when Barnes played in Almiron. He unselfishly squared it to Gordon to tap home but the flag immediately went up for offside. The replay showed it was a great decision as The Magpies’ wideman had just strayed off.
Almiron then tried to con the referee into awarding a penalty as he went down in the box after taking the ball past his man. The official immediately showed him a yellow card for simulation and the replay showed he was not wrong, good decision.
The referee had booked Enciso earlier in the game for doing the same, trying to win a free kick. As rare as it is in the modern game, it was refreshing to see some consistency in the officiating. Neither side could find a winner and the points were shared, which seemed a fair result.
With the Olympics coming up this summer, Paraguay may want to consider both Enciso and Almiron for the high diving event. Newcastle sit in sixth spot, right amongst the European places but with Chelsea hot on their heels, level on points with The Magpies.
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