4 May 2025
Brighton 1 Newcastle 1
Two teams met at the Amex Stadium who knew they needed nothing but wins to keep their European hopes alive. For Brighton, they are hoping for any form of qualification but Newcastle had their eyes firmly set on those Champions League places. The Magpies have failed to win any of the eight Premier League games they have played here before.
Burn knocked the ball long downfield and The Seagulls’ defence made a bit of a mess of trying to defend it. Barnes was looking to capitalise as he strode towards the box. He shifted the ball onto his left foot and drilled a low effort towards the far corner. It was always bending away from the target but it certainly had Verbruggen scrambling to make sure.
As the hosts gave the ball away again with a loose pass, Willock gratefully received the gift and got down the left flank. With no challenges coming in from the Brighton defenders, the midfielder opted to go for goal but just lifted it over the crossbar. Isak was furious with him as he was completely unmarked at the back post.
The Seagulls started to press and put the visitors under some pressure. As The Magpies dealt with the aerial bombardment, Minteh picked it up in the box and cut onto his left-foot before planting his shot into the far corner to grab a goal against his former club. Newcastle only had themselves to blame as they had been wasteful in front of goal so far.
As he celebrated scoring, the away fans seemed to take offense. Let’s get this straight, Newcastle sold him to make some money and he had no intention of leaving otherwise. It is good to see him taking pride in scoring for the club who currently employ him. Such is the way of the modern game, if players do not do this against former clubs, we may never see a goal celebrated again.
Despite some early chances, The Magpies struggled to create anything after falling behind. The Seagulls headed in at the interval with a slender lead. Eddie Howe would need to rally the troops if they are going to keep the pressure on the sides above them. There could not be a worse time to fall out of form as league positions are decided.
Both managers opted to make some changes to spice up their output. Schar played a superb long pass out wide to find Gordon. He controlled it on his chest before making a beeline for the Brighton goal. As he skipped past Lamptey, he went to ground and the referee pointed to the spot. However, a VAR review was to change that as contact happened just outside of the box.
Moments later, Willock skipped past van Hecke in the box and went to ground. After a moment’s thought the referee pointed to the spot again. VAR reviewed the incident and sent the official to the monitor. It was clear there was no contact from the Brighton man and the decision was reversed, while the Newcastle player was shown a yellow card for diving.
The game started to become a little scrappy with both sides flying into challenges. Barnes looked to take the ball past van Hecke but his lunging challenge brought the winger down. A free-kick was awarded in a very dangerous position for Eddie Howe’s side. As the shot came in from Schar, he immediately demanded a penalty for handball.
Eventually, the spot-kick was awarded as it was third-time lucky for The Magpies. Isak stepped up to take it and sent Verbruggen the wrong way as he got his side back on level terms. It was no more than they deserved, they had created plenty of scoring chances on the south coast. Now you wondered whether there was enough time for them to win it.
The Seagulls should have retaken the lead when a teasing cross found Gomez in the middle. Completely unmarked, he headed wide of the target. He really should have been working Pope in the Newcastle goal at the very least. What a chance it was for him to make himself a hero with the Amex Stadium, instead he was stood with his head in his hands.
The Magpies capitalised on a loose ball when Barnes picked it up and ran forward. He waited for the defenders to close him down before touching it to Wilson to his right. He struck a fierce shot towards goal which Verbruggen had to get a strong hand to in order to put it over the crossbar. So close to completing the smash and grab for the visitors.
With neither side able to find a winner, the points were shared on the south coast. Newcastle will see this as a missed opportunity to move into third place. They need to win all of their last three games now if they want to be in next season’s Champions League. Brighton lost ground on their rivals hoping to finish in the top eight as a result.
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