Mitchell sees Newcastle issue as Brighton escape after stadium error – 5 things
Aaron Stokes
7 – 9 minutes
Newcastle United suffered a rare defeat on home soil, losing to Brighton and Hove Albion 1-0 in front of a packed St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon.
Despite dominating possession, goal attempts and showing much more of a desire to go and win the game, Eddie Howe’s side were left frustrated as Seagulls stopper Bart Verbruggen kept them at bay throughout. The result drops Newcastle to eighth, now five points off the top four.
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Here are five things we learned from a frustrating return to Premier League action for the Magpies.
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The Newcastle of old returns – but it’s not enough
Newcastle supporters have bemoaned the lack of effective pressing on display this term, with Howe quizzed of late as to why his side haven’t been at their relentless best without the ball this term.
Yet Saturday’s clash with Brighton showed some of that old Newcastle bite as Howe’s attacking stars hurried and harassed from the front in the opening half, while Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes covered every blade of grass with or without the ball in the second period.
This was the Newcastle of old, at times, notably the opening 35 minutes. You could argue the first-half display was one of the best of the campaign thus far, yet they still went in behind after conceding a Danny Welbeck goal truly against the run of play.
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In total, Newcastle enjoyed 21 shots, 60% possession and showed more than enough desire to go and win it. The only real negative was the failure to take their chances.
A number of opportunities fell the way of misfiring Alexander Isak, both before and after half-time, while Anthony Gordon was denied by a stunning save and missed a guilt-edged chance before his substitution with just minutes left on the clock. When your main men are failing to fire, you’re going to struggle to win games.
Paul Mitchell sees the big issue
Howe’s Newcastle line up all but picked itself once it emerged Isak had recovered from his recent toe problem. At least, that is what is everyone believed up until 1.45pm on Saturday afternoon.
The Magpies chief threw just the solitary curveball with his St James’ Park selection, opting for Jacob Murphy in attack and subsequently relegating Harvey Barnes to the bench after four successive starts in black and white. The last time Howe named a front three of Isak, Gordon and Murphy from the start, Newcastle needed Barnes’ brilliance off the bench to flip the clash with Wolves on its head at Molineux in September.
Once again, his assistance was required from the sidelines with little under 30 minutes of normal time to play. As such, Gordon was shifted from the left, where he had been one of the most impressive performers, to the right, where he hardly had a sniff for the remainder of the tie.
His only chance of note on the opposite flank saw him fire a poor effort straight at Verbruggen after latching on to a stunning ball over the top by Fabian Schar. Soon after that, he was removed, swapped for Miguel Almiron as the home side chased an elusive equaliser.
It is sporting director Paul Mitchell’s job to solve Newcastle’s problems in the market in January and the boardroom chief was in attendance for the 1-0 loss, flanked by performance director James Bunce. A penny for his thoughts as he watched Newcastle chop and change with three right-wingers on the pitch failing to find the net.
Gordon is a left-winger, is significantly less impactful on the right, and Newcastle really need a starting, goalscoring option on that side of the pitch to ensure he doesn’t continued to be pulled away from his natural position. While you’re at it, a backup who can rival Isak for a significant chunk of the season would be welcomed with open arms too…
Brighton make schoolboy mistake – but get away it
It’s the one mistake you should never make at the home of Newcastle United. Do not rile up those sitting in the home stands.
It took just nine minutes of the second-half, after some minor boos as the officials trudged off at the interval, for Newcastle supporters to aim a “You’re not fit to referee” chant at the man in the middle – Peter Bankes.
The anger festering in the stands only grew as Joel Veltman went down softly to earn a cheap free-kick and deny Gordon a run through on goal in the second-half. Meanwhile, as Brighton stopper Bart Verbruggen took an age with each and every goal kick, the feeling of frustration only grew.
Usually, this would have had a negative effect on the visting side. However, the sting was firmly taken out of the feisty atmosphere somewhat in the 75th minute as the goalscorer Welbeck went down and required a stretcher off the pitch following a collision with Schar.
With the game stopped for seven minutes, the home fans lost their momentum, and their voice, somewhat and the boiling cauldron became somewhat tepid in the closing stages, despite Newcastle chasing the game.
We all know a raucous St James’ Park is a nightmare environment for a travelling side – but Brighton weathered the effects of the powder keg atmosphere as Newcastle failed to salvage something from the game.
Eddie Howe, Manager of Newcastle United, shows appreciation to the fans
Minteh misses out
The build up to Newcastle’s return to action was dominated by talk of a player who left them in the summer. Yankuba Minteh was expected to be involved at St James’ Park for the first time on Saturday but his omission from the pre-match team sheet prompted surprise.
The flashy winger picked up a minor tweak in Gambia’s 1-0 win over Madagascar on Monday evening and subsequently wasn’t risked on Tyneside by Fabian Hurzeler. “We had a long international break, long travels, and they came back with small issues,” the Brighton boss said before the clash.
Instead, it was up to fellow summer signing Georginio Rutter tasked with occupying the right flank for the Seagulls, with the £40m man setting up Welbeck’s opener against the run of play. Hurzeler could also call on Julio Enciso and Kaoru Mitoma off the bench, with the Japanese international almost doubling Brighton’s advantage in the closing stages.
Two lengthy runs come to an end
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Newcastle have not tasted defeat at St James’ Park since Manchester City’s Oscar Bobb stunned the Tyneside venue into silence back in mid-January. Since then, the Magpies have enjoyed a run of 12 competitive games without losing on home soil, and 14 if you include the two Sela Cup wins against European opposition.
To add, the last time Newcastle failed to score at the 52,000-seater venue was back in May 2023 in a goalless draw with Leicester City that secured the club’s return to the Champions League.
Newcastle need to start turning impressive performances into impressive results if they are to repeat that feat this term.
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