A big win, but plenty to work on - Newcastle 3-1 Brighton

Three precious points for Eddie Howe as Newcastle United ended a run of five straight defeats with a 3-1 win over Brighton at St James’ Park.

It wasn’t pretty, we rode our luck at times and were lucky not to throw away more points from a winning position in a frankly awful second half display, but it’s the result we all needed, ending any fears of a relegation scrap and sending us, momentarily, four points behind Bournemouth in 8th.

After nine defeats in our previous 12 and seven in our last eight domestic home games before today, Howe had to deliver in front of Yasir Al-Rumayyan. What we delivered was not vintage Newcastle or a display that will convince doubters that we've suddenly turned the corner, but it's a win this edgy, out-of-form and underconfident team desperately needed.

To our surprise, Howe only made one change from Arsenal, seeing Joelinton replace Jacob Ramsey. This meant Dan Burn at left-back again, with Lewis Hall on the bench, alongside Anthony Gordon, Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade.

Our bench looked stronger than the starting 11, putting pressure on Howe’s XI to deliver after a couple of head-scratching calls, creating 1.45pm sighs around Tyneside when the line-ups were released.

Thankfully, however, those changes worked a treat as we survived a few early scares and took the lead, as Murphy’s cross was nodded in by Osula after the winger did brilliantly to ride Verbruggen’s challenge and pick out the Dane.

1-0 has often been a precarious scoreline at St James’ Park, but we soon built on it, and it was another of Howe’s contentious selections that delivered the good, as Burn rose highest against his former club to head home Bruno’s cross at the Gallowgate.

It was far from perfect - Brighton looked far the better side early on, Baleba hit the bar and Pope very nearly saw a scuffed clearance ricochet into his goal - yet we carried a real threat on the break and looked more up for it. Osula was electric, bursting in behind and beyond his man, and Willock was a great out-ball who seemed to relish playing just ahead of Joelinton and up close to Osula.

Then came exactly what we didn’t want to see; a painfully slow start to the second half. Warning signs were there as Brighton pushed us back, had all of the ball and forced Pope into a brilliant save on the line before Hinshelwood headed over and Thiaw blocked Mitoma’s goal-bound shot. We were asking for trouble, and we got it, as Hinshelwood finished off a slick one-touch Brighton move to make it 2-1.

Howe reacted with three changes, as Wissa, Barnes and Hall replaced an impressive Osula, tiring Willock and improved Murphy. We shifted to more of a 5-3-2, but it didn’t really work as Brighton’s dominance continued, highlighted by their 67% possession. We simply could not afford to throw away more points from a winning position, yet we nearly did, as Pope made a superb stop to deny Kostoulas’ overhead kick after former Mag Minteh fired a huge chance over the bar.

Then came some stoppage time madness at the other end that sealed three precious points. Wissa did blaze a big opportunity over (again!) after great work from Hall, then Joelinton dragged wide, but the win and 3-1 scoreline was sealed in the 95th minute as Barnes smashed home after Wissa did his best to mess it up. Game, set and match, big celebrations from Howe and Tindall as the ball hits the net, which felt telling, and a huge sigh of relief around St James' Park.

Osula stood out in the first half with explosive pace and footwork, Willock's inclusion was certainly justified from his lively first-half display, and I thought Lewis Miley grew into it at right-back. After an edgy start, he settled defensively against the dangerous Mitoma and used the ball well, whether it be positive forward passes into midfield, or chipped passes out wide or in behind.

Tactically, technically and athletically, we have a real gem on our hands in the 20-year-old talent from Stanley, while Joelinton's return in midfield also bulked up a previously soft midfield. Pope's kicking was atrocious and almost cost us, though we have to credit the big man with two superb second-half saves! As for a fit-again Gordon, the fact he did not come on from the bench will only add to questions around his headspace following constant links to Bayern Munich.

So, a huge win for Howe, a victory that stops the rot, two points gained on Sunderland and our European hopes remain just about alive, but plenty of ground to make up and lots to improve on if we're to maintain this winning feeling over the final weeks of 2025/26.

Next up, a trip to a resurgent Nottingham Forest next Sunday, before a home clash with West Ham and Fulham away on the final day.

Keep the faith. HWTL.

Newcastle XI: Pope - Miley, Thiaw, Botman, Burn - Bruno, Tonali, Joelinton - Murphy, Osula, Willock

Brighton XI: Verbruggen - Wieffer, Van Hecke, Boscagli, Kadioglu - Baleba, Gross - Minteh, Hinshelwood, Mitoma - Welbeck.