Brighton had limbered up for this trip to Tyneside by working out with an acclaimed German cage fighter. The idea was that a spot of mixed martial arts training would toughen up their players at set pieces and enable them to pack a collective punch far too powerful for Newcastle to resist.
Happily for the home side it did not quite work out like that. With Yasir al-Rumayyan, Newcastle’s chair, and a delegation of his colleagues from the club’s majority owners, Saudi Arabian’s Public Investment Fund, in the director’s box, Newcastle ended a debilitating run of five straight defeats.
If a somewhat nervy win banished any fears about Newcastle becoming sucked into a relegation skirmish – not to mention bolstering Howe’s fragile job security – it hardly enhanced Brighton’s hopes of European qualification.
Many of those home fans who serenaded Howe at the final whistle had disagreed with his decision to start Will Osula and Dan Burn but that pair both scored as PIF representatives applauded politely.
Brighton began by monopolising the ball, but as one of Howe’s predecessors, Alan Pardew, once put it: “possession can be overrated.” Sure enough Newcastle assumed a 12th-minute lead. It stemmed from an uncharacteristic error on Bart Verbruggen’s part featuring the visiting goalkeeper charging out of his area as Jacob Murphy advanced down the right.
