Many Newcastle United fans were disappointed when Lewis Hall didn’t return to the starting eleven and Dan Burn named as left-back against Brighton.
After the 3-1 win over Brighton, Eddie Howe then explaining his reasoning for the team selection: “I went with players I can really trust and who I know can handle this type of atmosphere pressure. Those players have never let me down and they didn’t today. I am not picking the team on emotion, I am picking the team to win the game. I wanted pace up front with Osula and Willock, I wanted height in the team too.”
Nobody would claim that Saturday was an entirely comfortable watch but Newcastle United were up against the Premier League form team.
Brighton with four wins and a draw in their last five Premier League games, Newcastle United with five losses in a row in all competitions.
Eddie Howe choosing what he considered the right team and Dan Burn and his teammates didn’t let him down.
The Big Lad from Blyth doing well against Minteh and his teammates, as well as scoring an excellent header for the second goal.
Dan Burn reflecting on the 3-1 win: “We needed that, we have picked up some not great results lately and the win was important. It wasn’t the greatest performance, we let them back in second half, but it’s great to get three points.”
Saturday was the 55th match of a gruelling campaign.
Dan Burn giving this wider perspective on the season as a whole: “A lot of the responsibility for this season falls on us as players. The gaffer has taken a lot of stick, so that was for him today.”
That win over Brighton has removed any faint worries of relegation that may have existed and now hopefully a case of building some confidence and momentum in this end of season run.
Dan Burn: “Three games left anything can happen. We are well outside European places but we will give it a good push. I can understand the frustration, we have been on such an upward trajectory in recent seasons and we have taken a bit of a dip. We are looking to finish the season strong.”
Newcastle 3 Brighton 1 – Saturday 2 May 2026 3pm
Match Stats
Goals:
Newcastle United:
Osula 12, Burn 24, Barnes 90+5
Hinshelwood 61
Possession was Newcastle 33% Brighton 67%
Total shots were Newcastle 13 Brighton 13
Shots on target were Newcastle 6 Brighton 4
Corners were Newcastle 2 Brighton 10
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 24 Brighton 26
Newcastle team v Brighton:
Pope, Miley, Thiaw, Botman, Burn, Bruno (Ramsey 91), Tonali, Joelinton, Willock (Hall 68), Jacob Murphy (Barnes 68), Osula (Wissa 68)
Unused subs:
Ramsdale, Trippier, Gordon, Elanga, Woltemade