Brighton 0-0 Newcastle: New signings shine in fortunate draw down South

Some heroic goalkeeping from Nick Pope and last-ditch defending kept Newcastle United's unbeaten start to the new season intact, as we held on for a point at The Amex.

It was difficult to split the two sides in the first half, as Kieran Trippier cleared off the line at one end after Callum Wilson had a goal disallowed for a 'high boot', however we were fortunate to hold on for a draw in the second.

Nick Pope made two superb saves to keep us in it, with Fabian Schar also clearing off the line and Dan Burn making a goal-saving tackle to preserve the 6ft 6' stopper's clean sheet in a second 45 that was largely one-way traffic.

We never really got going in this one - nothing came off for a poor Allan Saint-Maximin - and our midfield was unusually sloppy after running rings around Nottingham Forest last weekend. However, the back line stood up to several waves of Brighton pressure and Sven Botman was impressive on his debut, looking calm in possession and a cool cat in just about everything he did from a defensive point of view.

Miguel Almrion also deserves credit for being by far the best of a bad bunch in attack, being the one player who looked likely to make things happen with his pace and direct running.

Dan Ashworth was in the stands at the home of his former club, sat alongside Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi. It was obvious in that first half last weekend, but this was another reminder to all that we need a couple of new attackers to arrive over the final few weeks of the transfer window.

Howe was forced to make one change for this one, with a dead leg for Matt Targett ruling him out. As a result, Dan Burn moved to left-back against his former club and Sven Botman made his first Premier League start alongside Fabian Schar.

(4-3-3): Pope – Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn – Willock, Guimaraes, Joelinton – Almiron, Wilson, Saint-Maximin.

SUBS: Dubravka, Dummett, Lascelles, Ritchie, Manquillo, Wood, Murphy, Anderson, S.Longstaff

After a high intensity start, Callum Wilson had the ball in the back of the net on the 14-minute mark, however it was disallowed for a high boot on Lewis Dunk. By the letter of the law it gets given as a foul, but it felt pretty harsh when looking back at the replay!

The pace of the game slowed down slightly in a boiling hot Brighton but we were still shading it. Allan Saint-Maximin was getting into some good areas on the break, but some sloppy passing in the final third was letting us down as the Frenchman endured a particularly poor start to this one.

Brighton came within millimetres of opening the scoring just after the half hour mark, as Solly March had a low shot cleared off the line by Kieran Trippier, who saved a certain goal after Nick Pope was beaten down to his right.

Miguel Almiron was looking sharp, ghosting past his man on a few occasions and getting Alexis Mac Allister into the book after the Argentine cut out what looked to be a promising break. However, there were a few sloppy moments in midfield that allowed the hosts to run straight at our back four, as Bruno and big Joe lost the ball in bad areas on a couple of occasions.

After Bruno had his pocket pinched once again, Brighton had another shot on goal just five minutes before the break, as an Adam Lallana shot was fortunately hit straight at Nick Pope.

Half-time and it's fair to say Almiron had been our only real bright spark. He was a pest - both on and off the ball - and set up a big chance for Wilson just before the break. His effort was saved and the flag went up, but it was close.

We needed Saint-Maximin to wake up in the second half. He was lacklustre in all departments after what was a really encouraging display last weekend. The winger was slow to get back and wayward with his decision making, often firing passes to blue and white Brighton shirts in the final third and conceding possession far too often.

The second half started with a stunning save from Nick Pope just three minutes into the restart. Solly March was given too much space to cross and Adam Lallana's header into the ground was brilliantly tipped around the post after the former Liverpool man found himself free of Schar and Trippier. Another let off.

Joelinton then joined Saint-Maximin in the book after some handbags between the big Brazilian and Solly March. A needless Yellow, but hopefully a moment that would inject some life into us after a lacklustre start to the second 45.

A few corners then came in the space of a few minutes after some good work from Saint-Maximin saw Joe Veltman take it off Wilson's boot. The resultant delivery was a good one from Trippier and Dan Burn found himself free, only for his powerful header to sail well over the bar. He should've done better!

Moments later, Brighton went down the other end and came even closer to opening the deadlock, only for a goal-saving challenge from Dan Burn to deny Danny Welbeck from just six yards out.

It was boiling hot on the South Coast and Eddie Howe opted for some fresh legs, bringing in Sean Longstaff and Jacob Murphy for Joe Willock and Allan Saint-Maximin. However, before those changes were made, Nick Pope pulled off another outstanding save, this time getting low down to his right to deny Solly March - who was just about to be taken off for the lightning quick Tariq Lamptey.

Saint-Maximin had a shocker today - a real shame after last weekend's impressive display - and it made sense to take him off when Lamptey was about to be running at 6ft 7' left-back, Dan Burn!

With 10 minutes remaining, there another heart-in-mouth moment in the Newcastle box as Fabian Schar became the latest Toon defender to clear off the line, smashing clear after a deflected shot very nearly went in off Dan Burn.

Then, after late substitute Kaoru Mitoma left Trippier for dead, Pascal Gross spurned another big chance for the hosts, steering his six-yard shot narrowly wide of Pope's front post. Another BIG let off!

Chris Wood then replaced a tiring Callum Wilson in the 87th minute, with our number nine looking visibly tired after feeding off scraps up against Lewis Dunk all afternoon.

We never looked like winning it in the end as Brighton came on strong, but we dug in for a hard fought draw in the end, giving Nick Pope back-to-back clean sheets to preserve our unbeaten start to the new season.

Next up, table-topping Man City at St James' Park next Sunday!