Newcastle United took on Brighton and Hove Albion this afternoon, stealing a point from the Amex.
The match took place at a lifeless Amex Stadium as it seemed like players and fans alike were struggling in the baking hot heat, and as a result the first half never really got out of second gear. Newcastle had the ball in the back of the net via Callum Wilson only for it to be ruled out by the ref for a high foot … although how else he was supposed to control the ball in that circumstance I’m not sure.
Allan Saint-Maximin looked lively and had the Brighton defence in knots only to go on and make stupid decisions every time it came to passing/shooting, either passing to players that simply aren’t there or in one case opting to take a dive as if VAR wasn’t a thing.
Brighton came within a whisker of taking the lead as Solly March had a shot twice cleared right off the line by Kieran Trippier after his first clearance spun back goalwards, the second clearance was much more definitive and kept the scoreline blank.
Who Was Your MOTM v Brighton?
Big Dan Burn
Bruno Guimaraes
Kieran Trippier
Miguel Almiron
Other
The second half saw Newcastle reduced to mere observers as they failed to create any problems for Brighton who really should have won this game but for some superb defending by my Man Of The Match, Dan Burn and heroic goalkeeping from Twitter’s own, Nick Pope. Burn played left back filling in for Matt Targett who missed out due to a dead leg, and never put a foot wrong all game from a defensive point of view.
It’s hard to pick out any positives from the second half as Newcastle looked slow and clueless, seemingly unable to get a grip on the game at all.
The need for attacking support in the transfer window was hammered home when our substitutions saw the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin and Joe Willock hooked and replaced by Jacob Murphy and Sean Longstaff, then later on Wilson taken off for Chris Wood. It may be harsh to say, but those subs are all a big step down from what was on the pitch and given that Maxi had an awful game, it shows how much we are screaming out for reinforcements.
Still, it’s not all bad news. @ToonPolls gets a free McDonald’s breakfast.
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