Newcastle 3-1 Brighton: Osula, Burn & Barnes score to get hosts back to winning ways

Newcastle United picked up their first Premier League win since March as they defeated Brighton 3-1 at St. James' Park.

Match Report 

Eddie Howe's men had lost each of their last four league matches and started poorly, nearly conceding inside two minutes, as Karou Mitoma played in Jack Hinshelwood, but he was denied by Nick Pope.

Brighton continued to dominate in the early stages, with Carlos Baleba afforded too much time outside the area, with his shot from distance striking the crossbar.

Nevertheless, the home side took the lead against the run of play in the 12th minute as a costly slip from goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen on the right wing conceded possession to Jacob Murphy, whose cross was headed into an empty net by William Osula.

Newcastle doubled their lead from a corner in the 24th minute, as Bruno Guimaraes' whipped delivery found Dan Burn, who glanced in after peeling away from his defender.

Brighton went close again as a poor clearance from Pope struck Hinshelwood and rebounded against the post, while Verbruggen somewhat made amends with a vital save to deny Malick Thiaw from close range, as Newcastle hunted a third before half-time.

The dangerous Hinshelwood went close yet again with a header from a corner after the break, and he then halved the deficit in the 61st minute as he collected a threaded pass from Danny Welbeck and emphatically rifled his shot into the roof of the net.

Newcastle ceded possession for the latter part of the match, which invited pressure from Brighton, with Pope called upon to keep out an overhead kick by Charalampos Kostoulas, while Yankuba Minteh spurned a golden opportunity with just two minutes of normal time remaining as he skied a shot over from yards out.

The visitors flooded bodies forward in the final minutes, leaving space in behind for Newcastle, with Harvey Barnes making sure of the victory in the 95th minute as he thumped his chance home. 

Data Debrief: Osula underlines his importance, as Verbruggen's struggles continue

Osula has underlined his importance in attack during the last few weeks, and he now has four goals in the Premier League since the start of March.

Only Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White (seven) has scored more in that same timeframe. 

Verbruggen's error in the first half, especially given how Brighton began the match, proved to be decisive. He has now made more errors leading to goals (four) than any other player in the Premier League this season, while his 11 since the start of 2023-24 is four more than any other player.

This was Guimaraes' 150th appearance for Newcastle in the Premier League, and he marked the occasion with his 25th assist. 

He has now scored and assisted five or more goals in the league during the last three campaigns, one of four players to do so along with Mohamed Salah, Bruno Fernandes and Jarrod Bowen. 

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

5' Match Event for Newcastle vs Brighton

9' Highlight from Newcastle vs Brighton

12' GOAL! Newcastle 1-0 Brighton (William Osula)

24' GOAL! Newcastle 2-0 Brighton (Dan Burn)

29' Match Event for Newcastle vs Brighton

61' GOAL! Newcastle 2-1 Brighton (Jack Hinshelwood)

95' GOAL! Newcastle 3-1 Brighton (Harvey Barnes)

Line-ups

Newcastle XI: Burn, Pope, J.Murphy, Joelinton, Guimaraes, Willock, Tonali, Sven Botman, Malick Thiaw, William Osula, Lewis Miley

Subs: Trippier, Yoane Wissa, Ramsdale, Barnes, Gordon, Anthony Elanga, Jacob Ramsey, Nick Woltemade, Lewis Hall

Brighton XI: Welbeck, Gross, Olivier Boscagli, Ferdi Kadıoğlu, Kaoru Mitoma, Mats Wieffer, Jan Paul van Hecke, Bart Verbruggen, Carlos Baleba, Yankuba Minteh, Jack Hinshelwood

Subs: Steele, Veltman, Dunk, Igor, Matt O'Riley, Georginio Rutter, Maxim De Cuyper, Yasin Ayari, Charalampos Kostoulas