19 October 2024
Newcastle 0 Brighton 1
Newcastle welcomed Brighton to St James’ Park as they looked to get back to winning ways. Eddie Howe had said in a press conference this week that he was not contacted about the vacant England job. Not surprising really as not so long ago there were big questions as to whether he would keep his current one. Alexander Isak returned for The Magpies after spending time out with a broken toe.
In the three games the Swedish striker has missed, Newcastle have failed to score a single goal from open play. The Magpies felt they should have had a penalty early on but a VAR review decided that the hand of the visitors’ defender did not intentionally touch the ball. Moments later Isak fired off a goal bound shot but it struck his own player to keep the scores level.
Howe’s side were dominating the early stages of this game. Despite having all the possession and pinning Brighton into their own half, there seemed no penetration to their play. All too often this season The Magpies have looked blunt in the final third. Their fans would like to think they will address this in the transfer window, but the wallet of Saudi Arabia has seemed firmly shut of late.
Then the hosts paid the ultimate price. The Seagulls came forward in a rare attack and Welbeck shared a neat one-two with Rutter. The former Arsenal striker held off the defender and poked the ball past Pope to give the visitors the lead. It was completely against the run of play but Fabian Hurzeler will not have cared in the slightest.
The hosts almost found an immediate reply when Gordon and Isak exchanged passes. The Magpies winger, who looks like every schoolgirl in the 1980s, then looked to curl a shot into the far corner. Verbruggen was at full-stretch as he palmed the ball away from his goal. It woke up the home fans at least, as they looked to stoke up a fire in their team.
Keeping clean sheets has been somewhat of a problem for Brighton this season. They were struggling to create chances themselves at St James’ Park, which would have been a concern to their travelling fans. It had been the hosts on the front foot for the majority of this game, with the exception of Welbeck’s goal.
Isak was the next player to try and find an equaliser for Newcastle. He fired a shot towards goal from a tight angle, which took a deflection on the way through. Verbruggen reacted well to get down to his right and make a smart save. The ball came back out Joelinton, who snatched at his chance, as he lifted it well over the crossbar.
Gordon was sent clean through on goal with only the keeper to beat. He had defenders either side of him but they could ill-afford to make a challenge. The former Everton winger hit a tame shot straight at the Brighton keeper that caused him no problems. This is the one thing lacking from the youngster’s game still, he needs six chances before he scores.
It was all getting a bit desperate for the hosts and the fans were feeling the same. Winter usually is a joyous time in the north-east, that time of year to go topless in the stands. However, nobody was feeling in a party atmosphere with the display they were seeing on the pitch. Champions League football seemed a long and distant memory right now.
With time running out for the hosts, an innocuous challenge on Welbeck sent the player to the ground. Seeing the replay it seemed he just received a knock in the base of his back. However, after a lengthy delay he was stretchered off with an oxygen mask on. With the form he has been in this season, The Seagulls will want him back to full fitness as soon as possible.
Mitoma should have put the game to bed when he stole the ball from Livramento. Pope did well to tip his shot over the crossbar. With just a little over five minutes remaining, The Magpies were running out of time. The fans were getting frustrated and atmosphere in St James’ Park was becoming a little sour on and off the pitch.
It was all about game management now for Hurzeler’s side. Mitoma came close once again but his volley went narrowly wide of the far post. Brighton managed to hold on for a massive three points. Newcastle will feel hard done by given that they dominated the game. What will be a concern is that they only managed to muster two shots on target in the entire match. Simply not good enough.
Brighton moved up to fifth in the table and are now only two points off the top four. The clean sheet will be just as important as the win for The Seagulls. They have some big games coming up, including two games against Liverpool, in both the league and the cup. It has been an impressive start for their new manager and the fans will be hoping it can continue.
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