We asked Mark Jankowski to give us his match ratings and player comments after Newcastle United 3 Brighton 1.
Pope 7
A bit of a mixed bag from our number 1 today.
He made a handful of excellent saves throughout the game but also caused concern with some of his kicking.
Brighton were quick to close him down on several occasions, and while he wasn’t always helped by the quality of the passes back to him, he didn’t inspire much confidence.
Miley 7
In truth it was far from Lewis Mikey’s best performance of the season but he did a solid job, especially on Minteh in the second half.
He’ll have better games but did very little wrong and looked like he truly belongs at this level.
Thiaw 7
His pace in the back line was invaluable at times.
While he left a few headed clearances short of where they should have been, he stepped up and was generally a calm presence at the back.
Botman 7
He dealt well with their physical presence of Danny Welbeck throughout the game and was generally a calming presence at the back.
Botman has struggled with his distribution of late but that seemed to be much better today.
Burn 8
Eyebrows were raised when Dan Burn was given the start ahead of Lewis Hall.
However, the big man from Blyth produced one of his better performances in several weeks. He was solid at the back, giving away very little and contributed with an excellent headed goal.
Bruno 7
He’s clearly still not 100% fit, however, Bruno’s class was on display on several occasions, particularly in the first half.
His clever positioning frequently retains possession and earns Newcastle free kicks which were sorely missed when he was out of the team.
Tonali 8
Having Bruno back in the team lifts some of the responsibility from Tonali’s shoulders and allows him to focus on what he does best.
He covered every blade of grass this afternoon, ensuring that Brighton had nothing easy in the middle of the pitch.
Joelinton 7
Back in the side and energised to give his usual full blooded performance.
Joelinton has embodied Howe’s ethos for the team over the past several years.
It felt fitting to see him back in the side as we returned to winning ways.
Murphy 8
Murphy delivered his best performance in quite some time.
He made good decisions throughout the game and worked hard for the team going in both directions.
His cross for the first goal was delightful.
Osula 7
Another goal for the young Dane.
I’ll maintain that he’s not really a starting striker in the Premier League and I think his impact would be even greater off the bench, but if he continues to score goals, Eddie Howe will keep picking him.
He faded badly in the second half.
Willock 7
A solid if unspectacular performance from Willock as his recent upturn in form has continued.
He troubled Brighton’s defence on several occasions throughout the first half and was a little unlucky not to score.
Subs
Barnes 6
Took his goal very well but overall put in a slightly disappointing performance.
Barnes tends to score goals in bunches so expect to see him score again very soon.
Wissa 6
I was hoping his missed chance late might have been due to him overstretching for Hall’s cross… it was not.
That being said his pressure created the opportunity for Harvey Barnes’ decisive third goal.
I’d like to see him given the opportunity over the closing weeks to get more minutes.
Hall 6
Showed his quality on the ball frequently once he was on the pitch.
Some of the people near me had been grumbling about his efforts in stopping crosses into the box but he showed no signs of switching off today.
Ramsey N/A
Not on long enough to judge.