Newcastle ends their winless streak! Barnes seals a crucial 3-1 victory as Howe's side overcomes Brighton's challenge.
Eddie Howe came into the game needing a victory, especially with Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and minority owner Jamie Reuben in attendance, both watching on from the directors’ box. As the line-up was announced, it caused a ripple of confusion and bewilderment from the fans in the stadium, with many preferring to see the likes of Lewis Hall, Nick Woltemade, and Jacob Ramsey in the line-up.
Newcastle started slowly with Brighton having the better of the possession and attacking play. After the first few minutes of the game, Newcastle settled into the game with Osula playing with a confidence and determination that has seen him keep his place in the side. He was able to add to his goalscoring tally in the 12th minute after connecting to a cross from Jacob Murphy to head it into an empty net.
Newcastle did get a helping hand for the first goal after Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggan rushed out of his goal to close Jacob Murphy down. He instead clipped Murphy, who got back quickly to cross the ball for Osula to score. Verbruggan was likely breathing a sigh of relief as if Newcastle had not scored, he may have been sent marching.
Newcastle continued to build their attacks as they were downhill towards the Gallowgate in the first half. Not their usual preference as they prefer to kick up to the Leazes stand in the first half due to the downward slope of the St James’ Park pitch.
On the 24th minute, Newcastle doubled their lead after Dan Burn rose the highest from Bruno Guimaraes’ delivery from the corner to head the ball past Verbruggan. Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope looked a little relieved to see the ball cannon off the post after Brighton midfielder Jack Hinshelwood blocked his attempted clearance in the first half.
Hinshelwood found a way through in the second half, though, after playing a smart one-two with Danny Welbeck, before finishing expertly past Pope from inside the box. Newcastle have thrown away the most points from winning positions this season (25), which is why the mood in St James’ Park quickly changed to one of anxiety as Brighton continued to keep Newcastle in their own half as the game continued.
This time, Newcastle managed to hold out and secure the win after a fine save from Nick Pope from substitute Charalampos Kostoulas' overhead kick. Both Wissa and Joelinton had chances to seal the win, but Wissa skied his shot after a cross in from Lewis Hall, and Joelinton’s shot went wide of the post. Harvey Barnes did seal the win in added time with a powerful finish to secure an important 3 points for the team and Eddie Howe.
Eddie Howe did answer questions of his starting line-up selection: “I went with players I can really trust and can handle the pressure. I’m not picking the team on emotion; I’m picking the team to win the game. Those players have never let me down, and they didn’t today. I wanted pace up front with Osula and Willock, and I wanted height in the team too.”