Newcastle United fell to a 2–1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, extending their winless run at the Amex Stadium and exposing the never-ending shortcomings the team is experiencing this season
on offense.
Danny Welbeck’s brace, either side of Nick Woltemade’s equalizer, handed Brighton their third win of the season — all against Champions League opposition.
Brighton controlled the opening half with a strong outing by the young midfield pairing of Carlos Baleba and Yasin Ayari, the couple outplaying Newcastle’s better-on-paper trifecta of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, and Joelinton.
Georginio Rutter tested Nick Pope early before sending Welbeck through in the 41st minute. The forward lifted the ball over Pope for the opener, ending Newcastle’s run of four straight clean sheets in all competitions.
If that wasn’t the worst defensive sequence of Newcastle’s season, let alone zone/man coverage all year, it must be the closest to it.
Eddie Howe made changes at halftime, introducing Lewis Miley and Jacob Murphy to inject energy into a flat display. The move paid off.
In the 76th minute, Murphy combined with Miley, who squared for Woltemade. The German forward, with his back to goal, improvised a backheel flick into the far corner — his fourth goal in as many games — to draw Newcastle level. Wonderful, to say the least.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, however, a Dan Burn tackle placed the ball into Welbeck’s path, and the striker smashed home his second from close range in a rather unfair turn of events.
Newcastle pressed for another equalizer, but Brighton held firm.
The defeat ended Newcastle’s brief upturn following wins over Union Saint-Gilloise and Nottingham Forest. Truth be told, the Magpies managed only three shots on target and looked short of rhythm and creativity after the international break.
Howe admitted the lads “were by far the better team in the second half” but lamented the decisive play that led to Brighton’s winner.
Newcastle remain winless in nine Premier League visits to Brighton and sit 12th in the table with nine points from eight matches in a start to the season that is starting to get a bit concerning, with more than a fifth of all 38 games already completed.
Benfica will visit St James’ Park in the Champions League on Tuesday for Newcastle’s second competitive game after the break.
