Newcastle registered a fine victory over Brighton in their pre-season friendly match prior to the starting of the upcoming 2023/24 season. Though Brighton seemed to be the better side on the ball, they ended up on the losing end to everyone’s surprise. Newcastle on the other hand capitalised on their chances as they came back from behind to win the game against the odds. Brighton was the side with more ball possession (65%) and shots attempted (19). It was however Newcastle who emerged victorious at the final whistle.
The game began with each of the two sides seeking their chance to attack the opponent’s net. Both the sides were gaining their rhythm slowly in the game with the passage of time. Brighton had there fast major opportunity in the 11th minute when Elliot Anderson went for goal from the left side of the box only to be denied by a fine save from Verbruggen between the sticks. Brighton had another chance at the half an hour mark, when Caicedo tried a through ball, but Pascal was caught offside. Danny Welbeck also was caught offside late into the first half while recieving a through ball from Facundo Bunaonotte.
Brighton eventually had their opening goal, something which they were searching throughout the first half. It was in the 49th minute that the side opened the scoring at last. Following some brilliant forward play, Danny Welbeck unleashed a fine shot from the right side of the six yard box to beat Verbruggen comfortably. The time beyond the one hour mark saw both the sides make a series of substitutional changes with a view to provide each of their players with some amount of game time. The game eventually seemed to lose its pace. However there still was some amount of twist left towards the later part of the game. It was in the 86th minute that Newcastle levelled the scores all of a sudden via an Elliot Anderson shot from inside the box. The last big moment in the game saw Elliot Anderson score another and win it for Newcastle. It was in the 2nd minute of stoppage time that Anderson found Murphy’s long ball and manage to get passed the last brighten defender to slot the ball past Pope to make it 2-1.
FT:- Brighton 1-2 Newcastle.
