Paul Doyle was at the Amex, and his report has landed. The link to that is below ... as well as a little bit more on the sacking of Norwich boss Daniel Farke. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Graham Potter talks to BT. “Up to the goal, we had really good control. It’s not easy to play a side as low as they were. In the end it’s a good point for us. While it’s still 1-0 you have to keep fighting, we have to accept the role we had to play in the game, which was the team trying to win the game and create something, but we’ll get better at that, it’s just something you have to go through.”
A slightly frustrated but philosophical Callum Wilson speaks to BT. “That’s the way things are going at the moment. Through on goal, but the keeper takes me out. The worrying thing is, it wasn’t blown up for first time. We got the right decision in the end. If it was a penalty it was different. We showed great character, that’s what we need to do in times like this. It’s not going to stay like this forever, the boys are getting more confidence. It’s good with a new manager coming in, getting his feet under the table, getting a new identity into the team.”
Some breaking news elsewhere in the Premier League. Norwich City have sacked Daniel Farke, who at least went out on a high today after his side secured their first win of the season, 2-1 at Brentford. The Canaries are still bottom of the table, mind.
Baby steps for Newcastle, then. A much-improved second-half display earns them a precious point that hauls them off the bottom of the table and puts them back above Norwich on goal difference. Eddie Howe, their manager-in-waiting, has some positives to take away that weren’t there after the first 45. Brighton meanwhile pass up the chance to leapfrog Manchester United into fifth place, but they do edge past Arsenal on goal difference to make it to sixth.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Watford | 10 | -6 | 10 |
| 17 | Leeds | 10 | -7 | 10 |
| 18 | Burnley | 11 | -6 | 8 |
| 19 | Newcastle | 11 | -12 | 5 |
| 20 | Norwich | 11 | -21 | 5 |
FULL TIME: Brighton 1-1 Newcastle
Yep. Ritchie’s corner fails to beat the first man. Brighton clear, and the whistle goes. A fair result on the balance of play ... though the visitors were denied a dramatic win when Sanchez cynically clipped Wilson as the Newcastle striker threatened to race through towards an unguarded goal.
90 min +8: But hello. What’s this? A long hoick forward is deflected out for a Newcastle corner on the right. Can Dunk and Brighton hold out?
90 min +7: It looks like Sanchez’s cynical foul on Wilson has saved Brighton a point, and cost Newcastle two. Wilson would surely have romped forward and slotted into the unguarded net.
90 min +6: Brighton launch an attack and probe along the front of the Newcastle box. Veltman tries to spring Maupay into the area with a wedged pass, but gets too much on it and Darlow claims.
90 min +5: There will be more than five added minutes, mind, because a couple were wasted with the sending off and all attendant faff.
90 min +4: That’s a really weird decision, and it looks to have cost Newcastle the chance of testing Dunk, because in the next phase of play, Saint-Maximin lashes a cross behind for a goal kick.
90 min +3: Dunk takes an age to pull on the goalkeeping gloves. The free kick is 35 yards out. Shelvey should surely test Dunk’s handling skills, despite the distance, but floats the free kick into the box, and Brighton deal with the delivery.
RED CARD! Sanchez (Brighton)
90 min +2: Yep, off goes the Brighton keeper. The home side have used up all their subs, so Dunk pulls on Sanchez’s jersey and gloves.
Updated
90 min +1: VAR intervenes in the first of five added minutes. Sanchez is surely going to be sent packing for that professional foul.
Updated
90 min: Joelinton blooters clear with Brighton piling forward. Suddenly Wilson is free down the inside-left channel ... and Sanchez is miles from his area on walkabout! Wilson rounds the keeper but before he can make towards the box and roll into the empty net, Wilson goes over. He’s been clipped ... but the referee waves play on!
Updated
89 min: Brighton pass and probe. Newcastle hold their shape. Cucuarella and Bissouma have half-chances to shoot, but opt not to. There’s no way through.
87 min: Shelvey delivers into the Brighton box from the right. Sanchez claims then spills, but Dunk is on hand to whack away.
86 min: Cucurella crosses from a deep spot on the left. Darlow dives to claim spectacularly, under no pressure, one for the cameras.
84 min: Mac Allister and Bissouma leave the ball to each other, and Hayden races off with it. Bissouma is forced to pull him back and take the booking. Then yet another yellow card, this time for Maupay, who was being wrestled by Murphy, and stuck a few fingers in his face. VAR check for serious misconduct, but yellow is deemed adequate punishment.
82 min: Joelinton barrels down the right and looks for Wilson in the middle. His cross loops off Cucurella and into the arms of Sanchez.
80 min: Veltman crosses from a deep position on the right. An easy pluck for Darlow, despite the presence of the nearby Maupay.
78 min: Brighton were much the better side in the first half. Now they’ve lost their mojo. Newcastle by contrast look much more confident now.
76 min: Lamptey, only recently back from injury, is out of fuel. He’s replaced by Webster.
75 min: Now it’s Lallana’s turn to go into the book, taking a clumsy, wild swipe at Saint-Maximin. He’s slightly fortunate not to see red there, you know. Perhaps fortunate that he didn’t make too much contact, even though that shouldn’t be a factor. A bigger clatter may have forced the referee’s hand.
74 min: Almiron is replaced by Joelinton, and is none too happy about it.
73 min: Wilson slides into the back of Mac Allister, and though he tried to pull out of the tackle as he aquaplaned across the greasy turf, he goes into the book.
71 min: Krafth is good to continue.
70 min: The free kick comes to nothing. Then play’s stopped when Duffy accidentally catches Krafth in the mush. The physios come on, and there’s time for both sides to take stock of the new situation.
69 min: Shelvey slides through the back of Trossard, and that’s a yellow card, no matter how ferociously he wags his finger at the referee. Free kick to Brighton, 30 yards out.
68 min: A huge smile plays across the face of Eddie Howe in the stand. Anything from this performance will be considered a bonus. Clark, who gave away the penalty, will be pretty pleased with his assist, too.
GOAL! Brighton 1-1 Newcastle (Hayden 66)
Ritchie and Saint-Maximin combine down the left. Ritchie crosses long. Clark rises at the far post and heads down for Hayden, who sweeps into the net from eight yards! Simple as that. The away end erupts!
Updated
65 min: Maupay comes on for March.
Updated
64 min: A bit of extremely sterile Newcastle possession in the middle of the park. “From the way Newcastle are playing, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were cut adrift by Christmas,” suggests Nicholas Berg. “Even all of the money in universe wouldn’t be able to help them.”
62 min: A melee on the edge of the Brighton D. Hayden tries to sort his feet out for a shot, but there’s no time or space in which to work, and Brighton eventually hack clear.
60 min: Brighton faff around at the back, as is their occasional wont, Murphy very nearly closing down Sanchez in his own six-yard box. So close to a farcical equaliser. Brighton escape Newcastle’s clutches, though, and Cucuarella romps down the left wing on the counter. Murphy takes one for the team with a cynical lunge. Yellow card.
58 min: Krafth’s right-wing cross is headed over his own bar by Veltman. Ritchie’s corner is claimed confidently by Sanchez.
56 min: Sanchez creams a long, Edersonesque pass down the left for Cucurella, who feeds Trossard. Some twisting and turning. Trossard can’t make room for a shot, so pulls back for Lallana, who improvises a sidefoot pass-shot towards the bottom left. Had it been on target, it was beating the rooted Darlow, but it flies a couple of inches wide. Great football from Brighton.
Updated
55 min: The irrepressible Lamptey skitters down the right and enters the box, only to send a weak shot straight at Darlow from a tight angle.
54 min: Almiron wins a corner down the right. Shelvey to take. Lascelles can’t win a header. Murphy waits on the edge of the box to volley but has the ball stolen off his toe. The ball breaks to Ritchie, whose low drive is deflected towards the bottom left. The pace has been taken off the shot, though, and Sanchez gathers.
52 min: Lamptey cuts another one back from the byline on the right. It rolls perfectly for Cucurella, to the left of the D. However Cucurella doesn’t fancy swinging his right peg at the ball, opting to trap and look for a pass instead. The chance evaporates into the night sky.
51 min: It’s pelting down on the south coast. Veltman’s loose pass allows Almiron to shape to shoot on the edge of the Brighton box. Almiron hesitates and Cucurella picks his pocket, saving Veltman’s blushes.
49 min: Ritchie goes in hard for an aerial 50-50 with Lamptey. There’s only ever going to be one winner. Lamptey takes a big clattering, albeit one that’s within the laws of the game. Ritchie checks his opponent is OK, and the diminutive wing-back springs up soon enough. One of those challenges that drew an OOF! from everyone in the stadium. Hard but fair.
47 min: Lallana smoothly sashays down the inside-right channel, wriggling out of a tight spot and slipping the ball forward to Trossard, whose low shot is kicked away by Darlow at the near post. Brighton come again, Trossard crossing deep from the right, Cucurella meeting it at the far post, but sending his header across goal and out for a goal kick. Two big chances at the start of the half.
Updated
Newcastle get the ball rolling for the second half. The hosts have made one change, Mwepu making way for Mac Allister.
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HALF TIME: Brighton 1-0 Newcastle
Leandro Trossard’s penalty is the difference at the break. As things stand, Brighton will go fifth, with Newcastle bottom. Plenty to play for in the second half. No flipping!
45 min +2: Lamptey turns Ritchie inside and out like a pair of socks. He reaches the byline on the right with an outrageous drop of the shoulder, about turn, and burst of speed, then dinks into the centre, where March heads wide right. Lamptey is such an enjoyable footballer to watch.
45 min: There will be three added minutes.
44 min: Newcastle take their sweet time over a couple of throws. A team waiting eagerly for the half-time whistle, right here.
42 min: Ritchie’s long corner is headed down by Almiron, finding Saint-Maximin at the far post. Saint-Maximin spins and shoots, but his close-range effort is half-blocked by Sanchez, then hooked off the line by Dunk. Much better from Newcastle ... although the flag goes up for offside, Brighton having pushed up smartly to catch Saint-Maximin well offside.
Updated
41 min: Shelvey’s long pass down the right finds Murphy, who wins another Newcastle corner, off Cucurella. The visitors load the six-yard box.
39 min: According to BY Sport, that Brighton sequence ran to 46 consecutive passes, lasting two and a quarter minutes! The home side have enjoyed 96 percent possession in the last five minutes. You can kind of understand why Hayden got frustrated and decided to whack Trossard.
37 min: Brighton are totally comfortable at the minute.
35 min: Brighton string a long sequence of passes together. The crowd soundtrack the move in the time-honoured style. Hayden eventually puts an end to the caper by clipping Trossard’s ankle.
34 min: Newcastle had started very brightly, but that penalty has taken the wind out of their sail. They’ve only won one of the last 25 matches in which they’ve conceded the first goal, losing 17 of them.
32 min: Lamptey screeches towards the byline on the right and cuts back. Trossard threatens to latch onto the pass, and he’s got Hayden right up his back. He opts to stay on his feet and attempts to control, but fails. There was a chance to put on the brakes suddenly, and purchase a cheap and cynical penalty off Hayden there. Hey, we don’t make the rules.
30 min: Lamptey tears off down the right again. It’s a searing run with a disappointing end, Lamptey crossing with nobody but Newcastle defenders in the box. Krafth tidies up.
28 min: Hayden works his way down the right and wins Newcastle a corner. They load the six-yard box. Lamptey clears with a strange sideways header. The ball’s returned into the mixer. Clark is lightly tugged to the ground. He wants a penalty. Referee says no. VAR says no.
27 min: Veltman fizzes a ball through the six-yard box from the right. Lamptey is inches away from sliding the ball home at the near post. He’ll curse cutting his toenails last night.
26 min: Newcastle weren’t happy with the award of that penalty, claiming that Trossard made a meal of the challenge. He certainly did that, going down late, but Clark definitely hung out a clumsy leg and caught his man going past him. It was a fair decision in the end, though other opinions will inevitably be available on the information superhighway.
GOAL! Brighton 1-0 Newcastle (Trossard 24)
After the usual pre-penalty faff, Trossard steps up and lashes the spot kick straight down the middle. Darlow dives to his right, and Brighton take the lead.
Updated
22 min: PENALTY FOR BRIGHTON! The referee overturns his decision, makes the TV mime - possibly in memory of the great Lionel Blair? - and points to the spot.
21 min: VAR operative Craig Pawson asks referee David Coote to go to the monitor. Off he trots.
20 min: A corner for Brighton on the left. The ball drops to Trossard on the penalty spot. Trossard takes a touch and clanks into the leg of Clark. The referee isn’t interested but it looks like enough contact has been made to call the foul. VAR will take a look.
Updated
19 min: Saint-Maximin and Almiron mess up a one-two in the centre circle as they threaten to charge upfield on the counter, Wilson again in a lot of space on the right wing. Even so, Newcastle are looking dangerous when they snaffle possession and break quickly.
17 min: Hayden drives forward with Brighton light at the back and Wilson free to his right. He inexplicably drifts infield, and is swarmed by what remains of the Brighton defence. Odd choice, and Wilson throws his head back in annoyance and despair.
15 min: Sanchez claims a high ball, lands on Wilson, and drops it. The whistle goes for a foul on the keeper, despite the Newcastle striker having done nothing but stand still, because that’s what always happens.
14 min: Lamptey shovels a pass down the right for Mwepu, who can’t get past last man Krafth and eventually concedes a foul.
12 min: Lascelles is booked for a late crump on Trossard in the centre circle. He looks affronted, arguing that it was his first challenge, but it was clumsy and unnecessary, and he can’t really have any complaints.
Updated
11 min: Cucurella bursts into space down the left. His cross is too long. Lamptey, then Trossard, take turns to deliver balls in from the right, neither managing to find a man. Both sides are looking lively in attack.
9 min: Lamptey makes some more high-speed trouble down the right and wins the first corner of the game. March swings it in. Duffy rises highest and slams a downward header that doesn’t have the requisite oomph. Darlow claims with ease again.
7 min: Murphy accelerates down the inside-right channel and exchanges passes with Almiron, bursting into the box and dragging a shot across the face of the Brighton goal and harmlessly out for a goal kick. Almiron, who had kept on running, wanted the favour returned, though you can’t blame Murphy for taking the shot on himself.
6 min: Lamptey embarks on his first exciting dribble of the evening. He jinks in from the right and floats a cross into the box. Trossard’s header is on target but weak and easy pickings for Darlow. Trossard possibly had time to take that down and get a shot away.
4 min: It’s all Brighton during these early exchanges, albeit to no great effect.
2 min: Brighton start the evening with a game of keepball. All very patient.
Eddie Howe finally shows his face, making his way to the directors’ box, led there by Amanda Staveley. The players take the knee, then Brighton kick off.
Updated
Before kick off, the players congregate around the centre circle to pay their respects to the fallen. Both managers lay a wreath of remembrance, a poppy mosaic flutters in the stand, and the stadium falls silent for the Last Post. Perfectly observed. Rest in peace.
Updated
The teams are out! Brighton wear their blue and white stripes, while Newcastle play in second-choice black. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
Brighton boss Graham Potter talks to BT Sport ... “Tariq Lamptey gives us a different dimension, and we’re looking forward to getting him on the pitch. I thought it was the right time to put him in from the start. [Newcastle] will be fighting for the points. We have to be ready for that.”
... and so does Newcastle interim coach Graeme Jones. “You have to focus on the match. I’ve tried to keep everyone’s attention on today’s game. We need to be adaptable.”
Updated
Word is that Eddie Howe will be in the stands at the Amex tonight. He’ll run the rule over his new charges, with his official unveiling as Newcastle United manager expected next week.
The 3pms certainly haven’t gone Newcastle’s way. Burnley snatched a precious point at leaders Chelsea with a 1-1 draw, while Norwich City have won their first match of the season, 2-1 at Brentford. That victory for Daniel Farke’s side means Newcastle are now bottom of the Premier League. A draw here will see them leapfrog the Canaries this evening on goal difference.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Watford | 10 | -6 | 10 |
| 17 | Leeds | 10 | -7 | 10 |
| 18 | Burnley | 11 | -6 | 8 |
| 19 | Norwich | 11 | -21 | 5 |
| 20 | Newcastle | 10 | -12 | 4 |
Brighton make just one change to the XI that started the comeback 2-2 draw at Anfield. Tariq Lamptey, borderline unplayable when he gets the wind behind, comes in for Jakub Moder, who drops to the bench.
Newcastle make three changes to the team beaten 3-0 at Chelsea. Jonjo Shelvey, Jacob Murphy and Miguel Almiron replace the benched Javier Manquillo, Ryan Fraser and Sean Longstaff.
The teams
Brighton & Hove Albion: Sanchez, Veltman, Duffy, Dunk, Lamptey, Mwepu, Bissouma, Cucurella, March, Lallana, Trossard.
Subs: Webster, Maupay, Mac Allister, Gross, Moder, Steele, Locadia, Richards, Sarmiento.
Newcastle United: Darlow, Murphy, Krafth, Lascelles, Clark, Ritchie, Almiron, Hayden, Shelvey, Wilson, Saint-Maximin.
Subs: Dubravka, Schar, Joelinton, Lewis, Manquillo, Fraser, Willock, Gayle, Longstaff.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire).
Preamble
Brighton will be feeling good about themselves in the wake of their excellent display at Anfield last weekend. The confidence is flowing through Graham Potter’s team; they’re very easy on the eye. Newcastle, by contrast, are six points adrift of safety and a bit of a mess. Better days lie ahead, but for now they desperately need to start picking up points if the big billion-dollar rebuild isn’t going to start in the Championship. Only problem is, they’ve never beaten Brighton in the Premier League, and have only won twice in their past 16 games with today’s opponents. And if they don’t win today, it’ll be their worst-ever start to a league campaign. Plenty of pressure on the Magpies, then, as they take on the Seagulls. Wings start a-flapping at 5.30pm GMT. It’s on!
