Newcastle United entertained Brighton and Hove Albion at St. James Park at the back of a defensive 1-0 loss against league leaders Manchester City in their last Premier League outing. The Magpies boss Rafael Benitez rang the changes for this game and brought all his regular starters into the lineup. They took on Chris Hughton’s Brighton knowing that a victory would go a long way in their quest to avoid the drop this season. However, both sides tried their best to bag the three points but could only manage to share the spoils after putting in a hard-fought effort in the contest. To the disappointment of the Toon Army, the Magpies could only manage to play out a 0-0 draw at home.
Let’s shed some light on how each Newcastle United player fared in the match.
GK: Karl Darlow – 8/10
He put in a confident display in goal for the Magpies and made some impressive saves to earn a deserved clean sheet.
RB: DeAndre Yedlin – 6/10
He was a bit-nervy during the start of the match but came back to put in a strong display at right-back. Needlessly got booked in the second half for a rash challenge on Solly March.
CB: Jamaal Lascelles – 7/10
The Newcastle skipper had a quiet game and controlled his backline well to keep a clean sheet in the game.
CB: Ciaran Clark – 5/10
He did well while defending but too many of his passes failed to find his teammates when he was in possession of the ball. He will definitely be hoping for better days.
LB: Paul Dummett – 7/10
He was superb defensively for the Magpies but failed to provide an outlet for Newcastle in the opposition half.
RM: Matt Ritchie – 5/10
Not one of his finest performances, the Scotsman struggled to create enough chances for Newcastle and was wasteful with his opportunities in the opposition box.
CM: Mikel Merino – 6/10
He closed down the Brighton midfield well in the first half and had a good game at the centre of the park for the Magpies.
CM: Isaac Hayden – 6/10
His deflected effort almost resulted in a goal for Newcastle but Mathew Ryan made a great save to deny him. He quietly put in a good shift in midfield.
LM: Christian Atsu – 6/10
He failed to make the same kind of impact like he did when he came on against Manchester City. He also failed to create anything meaningful going forward and had a mediocre game on the left flank.
ST: Dwight Gayle – 7/10
His clever runs off the ball and movement gave the Brighton defenders some headaches to cope with. He was unfortunate not to score for the Toon Army when his effort forced a good save out of the Brighton goalkeeper.
ST: Joselu – 6/10
His hold up play was brilliant at times in the first half but the Spanish forward faded after the half-time break.
Substitutes:
ST: Ayoze Perez – 5/10
The Spanish substitute had little impact on the game after coming on.
CM: Jonjoe Shelvey – 6/10
He came on and passed the ball well but couldn’t conjure up a winning goal for his team.
RM: Jacob Murphy – 5/10
He found life hard on the right flank after coming on for the last ten minutes of the contest.
