Newcastle 0-1 Brighton: Tom Gayle on Premier League defeat

Football comes at you fast. In the space of barley 36 hours Eddie Howe went from a pre-match press conference dominated by discussion as to why he wasn’t interviewed for the England Manager’s role, to a more humbling post-match interview with me, where for the second successive game, Newcastle’s Head Coach was trying to explain why his side failed to score during a game they had dominated.

The expected difference to the 0-0 draw at Everton was the much-anticipated return of Alexander Isak. Newcastle failed to score from open play during his three game injury absence, and if wasn’t for a) Jacob Murphy unintentionally blocking an Isak shot which appeared destined to ripple the Brighton net, or b) the performance of Bart Verbruggen, in particular his perfect execution of a starfish esque save to deny the striker, it could have been a much different story.

Last season Newcastle became the first team in Premier League history to register 80 plus goals, but also concede over 60 in one campaign. A ‘we’ll win by scoring more than you’ approach which was very unlike the Eddie Howe style we’ve become accustomed to.

This season, a strong emphasis on defensive solidity has returned. So far last month’s defeat to Fulham is the only time an opponent has managed to score more than once against Howe’s men. However offensively, compared to last year, they’ve scored 12 fewer goals at this stage of the season (8 v 20). Alan Shearer on Match of the Day said “There’s been a few things missing from Newcastle’s performances. The biggest thing is they’ve been so poor in front of goal. That has to change.”

Howe has the experience, and quality of playing personnel to turn things around in the final third. Yet given their next two league fixtures are away at Chelsea, before hosting Arsenal, things could get a little more frustrating before they get better for Newcastle fans.