Brighton 3-1 Newcastle: Awful Toon suffer worrying defeat at the Amex

A third straight defeat and pretty awful performance from Newcastle United, as an Evan Ferguson hat-trick did the damage before Callum Wilson's consolation strike in the 93rd minute.

Both sides suffered devastating defeats last weekend but only one team responded, and that was Brighton.

Ultimately, we were way off it in both boxes, way off it on the ball and way off it out of possession; a combination that will kill you against good teams. It did last Sunday and it did today, as missed chances in the opening stages and an awful goal to concede proved costly.

The midfield balance also looked way off, as a back four missing Sven Botman was given so little protection. We were sloppy in possession, poor in the final third, gave away two avoidable goals and looked lacklustre off the ball, appearing like a side feeling sorry for themselves following last Sunday's late heartbreak at St James' Park. That's not what we've come to expect from an Eddie Howe side and must change.

Howe was force into one change for this one, as Botman missed out with an ankle problem. That meant Dan Burn in at centre-back and Matt Targett at left-back, but the good news saw Joelinton pass a late fitness test, seeing the Brazilian start alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.

We made a really positive start in the opening few minutes, as one lovely through ball from Bruno and another smart cut back from Tonali handed Isak TWO bid chances in the opening three minutes. He was forced wide for the first after hesitating slightly and fired the second wide. Our high intensity start was encouraging, but we had to be more clinical in the final third.

At the other end, Brighton forced Nick Pope into a couple of early saves before Miguel Almiron's deflected cross very nearly squirmed in at the front post on the 15-minute mark, forcing Verbruggen into a brilliant save. Another chance came our way after good work from Bruno and Gordon on the break, but Isak's cut-back wasn't capitalised on in a box full of blue and white shirts.

Brighton were dominating the ball and looked the better side. Yes, we had moments on the counter - each one wasted - but the Seagulls were dragging out our centre-backs, getting in behind our midfield too easily, creating overloads down Trippier's side and passing us off the pitch.

Unfortunately, our missed chances and struggle to get a grip of the game was punished after not one but two errors from Nick Pope. After his clearances was scuffed into trouble, he failed to gather Billy Gilmour's stinging shot from range. Evan Ferguson reacted first and scored. An avoidable goal to concede but one Brighton deserved. Pope will get pelters for his two mistakes, but Tonali's air shot before Gilmour's powerful strike and lack of pressure as he let fly also wasn't good enough.

One glaring issue was in midfield. We had no clear No 6 to screen our defence and a lack of cohesion, with Joao Pedro constantly picking up possession on the half-turn and running at our back four. Bruno looked to be running in quicksand, Joelinton looked like a man playing with an injury, we were getting no joy down our usually dangerous left and Tonali was often caught in no mans land between Trippier and Almiron.

We did create an opening moments after their opener, as Joelinton burst into the box, but it was another tame effort as his low shot was dragged wide. Off the ball, it was almost like we were caught in two minds. Do we press and play our usual game or sit off and counter? Failure to commit to either left us chasing shadows, leading to cheap yellow cards for Anthony Gordon and Fabian Schar;

Considering some of early openings we created, it spoke volumes about our finishing - or lack of it - that we went into the break without a shot on target. If we wanted to get back into this and avoid a third straight defeat, we had to improve in both boxes and sort out our midfield in the second half.

Howe resisted changes at the break, but you got the feeling it wouldn't be long until Sean Longstaff came on if we didn't improve. Gordon was also on a yellow and started the second half poorly, then came an awful giveaway from Trippier, who almost gifted Joao Pedro a free shot in the box. We had to liven up, with Matt Targett another who looked half asleep in and out of possession.

A triple changes then came, as Howe brought on Callum Wilson, Elliot Anderson and Sean Longstaff for Miguel Almiron, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali. This saw Gordon switch to the right, Isak move out to the left, Wilson lead the line and Bruno to be joined in midfield by Anderson and Longstaff.

Brighton just looked sharper, than us in all areas and took a 2-0 lead with 25 minutes to play. Once again, a Brighton attacker found themselves in acres in that gap between midfield and defence and once again it was Ferguson, this time a long range effort curled beyond Pope and into the bottom right corner. A lovely finish but another soft goal to concede, as the Irishman had so much time and space to get his shot away.

We went down the other end and created our first big opening of the second half, as good work from Anderson found Gordon at the back post. However, last week's man of the match didn't have his shooting boots on here, miscuing his effort well wide. It just wasn't our night, at either end.

The Toon Army were still in great voice in the South Coast sunshine, but they deserved so much more after the 350 mile trip. Sadly, it got worse, as Ferguson's edge of the box effort took a huge deflection off Schar, wrong-footed Pope and flew in. 3-0 Brighton and game over.

Two more changes followed as Jamaal Lascelles and Harvey Barnes replaced Matt Targett and Alexander Isak. Moments later, Dan Burn went into the book after dragging down Solly March. Like so many today, he had a shocker on his return to Brighton.

At this point, Sky Sports showed a stat on our recent defensive record, highlighting the fact we've kept just two clean sheets in our last 22 games. Considering we were outstanding defensively for the first half of the 2022/23 season, that's something we'll need to put right; especially with PSG, Dortmund and AC Milan to come. To make matters worse, Fabian Schar was holding his hamstring for the final 10 minutes, leaving us with another injury worry at the back.

Quite incredibly, the away end were still drowning out the Amex, with "is this the way to Barcelona" on repeat. It meant very little, but the travelling Toon Army were given a late goal, as Callum Wilson latched onto Longstaff's high punt, snuck past Van Hecke and fired home to make it 3-1.

A day to forget for Newcastle United and a lot for Eddie Howe to put right heading into the international break.

STARTING XI: Pope - Trippier, Schar, Burn, Targett - Tonali, Bruno, Joelinton - Almiron, Isak, Gordon.

SUBS: Dubravka, Lascelles, Wilson, Barnes, Hall, Livramento, Murphy, Anderson, Longstaff.