First Half

Newcastle started the half seeing lots of the ball, which proved to carry through to the rest of the game. Brighton were very shy of pressing and seemed content to get blocks and interceptions in by way of stopping Newcastle attacks.

Newcastle, similar to the Old Trafford start, showed energy and committed numbers forward. Muto and Ayoze showed mobility to make runs in behind but they were also comfortable with their backs to goal, often receiving low passes then looking to lay it off to the wingers.

The early intensity was what created the first real chance as Shelvey tackled the ball from Bong, Ayoze missed a gilt-edged chance from the loose ball, with Ryan making an excellent stop to deny the Spaniard.

The Brighton goal came against the run of play and from a wrongly awarded corner, the last touch of the ball coming from Solly March before it went out of play. At 0-1 Newcastle had out-tackled their opposition by 9 to 1, made more passes and generally looked the better side, and yet it was the away side that had done the one thing that matters most.

Rather than deflate Newcastle, they responded well to going behind. Newcastle took total control of the game as Brighton’s passive approach allowed them to keep the ball and pass it around. Brighton began to overload their box with numbers and a large majority of the crosses and through balls Newcastle attempted were blocked or intercepted. 2 crosses did find a man in black and white in Ritchie, who attempted 2 headers but did not connect convincingly with either one.

Ayoze and Muto unsurprisingly struggled to win anything aerially. The disappointment being the absence of the approach that suited them at Old trafford with low through balls they could run onto being abandoned in favour of a crossing approach. Credit must be given to Brighton as their deep, narrow shape meant through balls weren’t really an option. The question then becomes why didn’t Joselu start or come on sooner, given his superior aerial prowess of the 3 forwards in the match day squad.

The best chance to equalise fell to Muto after a Shelvey shot was saved by Ryan, the rebound rising too high as Muto struggled to connect well with his header as the ball sailed over the bar.