Newcastle 2-1 Brighton: Anderson inspires comeback as Toon end USA tour on a high
Newcastle rounded off our Summer Series tournament with a 2-1 victory against Brighton thanks to a second half brace from Elliot Anderson after Danny Welbeck's opener.
A much-changed Toon side struggled to controlled the ball throughout the game and were often sloppy in possession, but found some quality in the final third late on to complete the comeback.
Although they played a much stronger starting 11, Brighton managed the game well for the most part with some excellent build-up play and look to be a big threat once again heading into the new season.
We were exposed down our left-hand side for the first chance of the game as Facundo Buonanotte received a great ball into the box, but a brilliant tackle from Matt Targett allowed Nick Pope to collect the ball and clear any danger.
Anderson fired away Newcastle’s first shot of the game after 10 minutes with a driving effort that was straight at Bart Verbruggen and held by the Belgian shot-stopper.
It was very much a stop-start game in the opening period as both sides committed a number of soft challenges. The resulting free-kicks, however, didn’t come close to breaking the deadlock.
Brighton should have been in front after 17 minutes as Adam Lallana was played into the box completely unmarked after a defensive error by Newcastle, but the former England international somehow missed the target entirely.
Brighton then had another chance to open the scoring just a minute later after a scramble by Pope to try and clear the ball which eventually felt to Kaoru Mitoma and again they were unable to convert.
Tensions were high after a rough challenge from Mahmoud Dahoud on Anderson which sparked a reaction from Callum Wilson defending his young teammate. The striker clearly felt it deserved further punishment, but nothing was given.
Bruno received the first yellow card of the game on the half hour mark after a late challenge through the back of Jan Paul van Hecke. It was probably Newcastle’s biggest highlight of the first-half in what had been a fairly dull affair so far.
Barnes had a half chance 10 minutes before the break, but after a good tackle in the box, our new signing struggled to really get any conviction on the ball and his effort rolled tamely into the goalkeeper’s path.
The first chance of the second came from Matt Ritchie's free-kick as he delivered a brilliant ball onto the head of Jamaal Lascelles who was wide open in the box, but the captain got his finish all wrong and sent it flying over the bar.
Shortly after, Danny Welbeck broke the deadlock after some good work from Mitoma on the left-wing before driving it across the box and finding the striker who easily tapped home. Howe will be disappointed with that one after the entire defence failed to deal with cross and left Welbeck open to hit into an empty net.
Pope then made an excellent save to deny Buonanotte from making it 2-0 less than five minutes later. The Seagulls broke quickly after defending a Newcastle corner and Mitoma was able to find the Argentinian in acres of space, but his effort denied by our number one.
Our first change of the game came after 58 minutes as Harrison Ashby made way for Lewis Miley. The youngster slotted into his midfield role while Ritchie moved further out wide.
Newcastle came so close to an equaliser on the hour mark as Wilson saw his effort hit the bar and go over for a goal kick. The forward was brilliantly played in by Jacob Murphy who timed his pass perfectly, but there was too much power on the resulting shot.
Anderson should have made it 1-1 68 minutes in, but a brilliant save from Verbruggen denied the youngster. A mistake from the defence left Wilson one-on-one with the keeper, but the striker unselfishly played it across to Anderson whose curling effort was batted away.
Both Ben Parkinson and Alex Murphy were brought on with 15 minutes to play as Wilson and Paul Dummett took to the bench.
With five minutes to go, Brighton could have doubled their lead with, but some great defensive work from Savage denied them the chance of breaking into the box.
Howe's next changes of the game were made with 10 minutes left to go as Remi Savage and Jay Turner-Cooke replaced Ritchie and Lascelles.
Less than a minute later, Newcastle finally levelled the game up through Anderson after a defensive mix-up from Brighton. Parkinson sent a fairly tame ball into the box which should have been easily cleaned up, but as both Brighton defenders left it for the other, Anderson acted quickly and latched onto the loose ball before firing it into the roof of the net.
Jamie Miley entered the pitch in the final few minutes to join his younger brother as Barnes departed the field.
With what was surely the last kick of the game, Anderson doubled his tally for the game and secured a first Summer Series victory for Newcastle. Jacob Murphy played a perfect weighted ball from his own half right into the path of the 20-year-old who calmly slotted it past Verbruggen.
Newcastle will feel somewhat fortunate to have come away with a victory after a dominant performance from Brighton, but the performances of Anderson, Miley and Ashby will be pleasing to Howe as we edge closer to the start of the season.
The team will return home soon to take part in the Sela Cup next weekend in our final pre-season games of the summer.
