Newcastle United’s FA Cup run came to an abrupt end at St James’ Park as the Magpies lost 2-1, after extra time, to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Alexander Isak returned for Eddie Howe‘s side and found the net in the early stages, before former Newcastle youngster Yankuba Minteh marked his first Tyneside appearance with a goal. Danny Welbeck popped up in the 114th minute to win the tie for the away side.
Here is the five things we learned from the game.
Newcastle crash out of the cup
Eddie Howe doesn’t like losing football matches. He doesn’t particularly like drawing them either. With that in mind, it will come as no surprise that he was taking this competition very, very seriously.
Six changes may have been made from the defeat at Anfield in midweek – but the strong lineup was a statement of intent. It was a message that he wanted two chances of silverware at Wembley this season.
However, Newcastle’s journey ends here on a frustrating afternoon. The opening 45 minutes saw a wealth of chances created and some impressive football on display. However, neither side could capitalise on the other looking pretty sloppy in the second period – and it took a Danny Welbeck goal, six minutes before the end of extra time, to separate the two sides.
Much was made of Newcastle’s narrow 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest just a weeks ago, with Howe admitting the victory ‘felt like a defeat’ given the fact his side had almost blown a three-goal lead in the second-half. This time around there was no such advantage to try and keep hold of as the two sides emerged from their 15-minute team talks – but, at times, there was a familiar feeling of Newcastle struggling to match the level of performance shown in the opening stages of the game.
A nervous energy engulfed St James’ Park at times in the second period, as players struggled to keep the ball and threatened to hand Brighton the match on a plate. It is an issue Newcastle really need to sort out after a few Jekyll and Hyde in-game showings of late.
Angry Newcastle stars defend the indefensible
Anthony Gordon lost his cool and that meant both an initial – and a future punishment – for the player on a personal level and Newcastle as a collective. A straight red card for the attacker in the closing stages of the second-half saw the black and whites reduced to 10 men on the day, while Gordon will now miss the Carabao Cup final later this month.
It was a moment of madness from Gordon, in truth. As he jostled with Brighton’s Jan Paul Van Hecke as the ball went out of play, he stupidly lashed out at the centre-back, sending a straight arm directly into the back of his head. It didn’t take Anthony Taylor long to brandish the straight red.
Brighton players rushed in to try and make the referee’s decision for him in the seconds before the red emerged from his pocket. Joao Pedro sent a shove Gordon’s way, before angry team-mates Dan Burn and Matt Targett arrived as backup to defend Gordon, giving Pedro a shove back before attempting to shield their co-star.
In truth, they probably both knew the Newcastle forward was heading for the dressing room but were keen to defuse the situation on the off chance they could help Gordon out. Eddie Howe’s side were not at a numerical disadvantage for long, with Tariq Lamptey shown a second yellow card in stoppage time.
Newcastle finally see Minteh at St James’ Park
It is approaching nine months since Yankuba Minteh left Newcastle United without ever running out at St James’ Park. It will always be a source of frustration that his only ever appearance at the 52,000-seater while at the club was to take in a match during his loan spell with Feyenoord. The Gambian missed Brighton’s 1-0 win on Tyneside earlier this season, through injury, but was named as a starter for Sunday’s FA Cup showdown.
It has been an up and down maiden season in England for a youngster who Newcastle thought would be a future superstar in these parts – before they were forced to cash in for well-documented PSR reasons. It was also an up and down first-half for the 20-year-old – to say the least.
His first real introduction to the game was a failed take-on of makeshift left-back Tino Livramento, inside 15 minutes, before hurrying to win the ball seconds later just a few metres in front of Eddie Howe. But that eagerness to get back and defend would come back to bite moments later.
Livramento had done well to progress high up the pitch and into the box before he was taken out by a reckless lunge from Minteh, with referee Anthony Taylor taking just a few seconds to point to the spot. The winger had his head buried in his shirt and Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler was simply staring angrily in front of him as Newcastle’s No 14 made no mistake from the spot to compound Minteh’s misery.
However, before the first-half was done, Minteh would be redeeming himself at the opposite end of the pitch. After a 1-2 with Joao Pedro, the right-sided attacker raced towards goal and sent the ball past Martin Dubravka, with help from a Kieran Trippier deflection.
It was a surprisingly muted celebration from the youngster, who put his hand above his head in a prayer-like fashion as if to apologise to the home fans he never played in front of. The taunt from the travelling Brighton fans was: “Yankuba Minteh, he left ‘cos you’re s***.”
Newcastle have their main man back
Alexander Isak was one of the first Newcastle United players to arrive at the ground on Sunday afternoon. Not through the back door, either, but straight past the Milburn Stand and down the tunnel. It was an early sign of a potential swift return to action after his recent injury scare.
Around an hour later and Isak was named in the starting XI, flanked by Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes either side of him. The Swede, who missed the defeat to Liverpool in midweek, was back and raring to go.
It took Isak just 22 minutes to return to the scoresheet, blasting a penalty beyond Bart Verbruggen in ferocious fashion. Minutes later, he thought he had doubled his side’s lead after an equally powerful hit beyond the goalkeeper – before realising he had strayed marginally offside.
The striker was replaced in the closing stages of the second half after dropping to the ground and needing treatment. Hopefully it was more of a precautionary decision after an energy-sapping performance with and without the ball.
(Image: IAIN BUIST / Chronicle)
Full-back worries emerge
For all Alexander Isak and Joelinton’s respective returns to the starting lineup were positive pieces of news for Newcastle, the absence of Lewis Hall – not only from the first XI but also the matchday squad entirely – was a cause for concern. The left-back was forced to miss the FA Cup fifth-round showdown with an ankle injury he had sustained in the defeat to Liverpool a few days ago.
That meant Tino Livramento was moved to left-back, with Kieran Trippier returning to the side in his usual role on the opposite side of Eddie Howe’s defence. The former can perform in that role – as Newcastle have previously seen – but Hall’s ability both going forward and heading towards his own goal means he will be a huge miss.
The question now revolves around whether Hall will be back for the Carabao Cup final in two weeks time.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/angry-newcastle-united-stars-defend-31112773
