Dominic Scurr reflects on Newcastle United's 2-1 defeat at Brighton on Saturday. Danny Welbeck scored twice for the hosts while Nick Woltemade scored again for The Magpies.
00:00Domsker here with the Shields Gazette, just back from Newcastle United's 2-1 defeat to Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday.
00:07Obviously a disappointing result for Newcastle. Was it deserved on the runner player? I'd say certainly in the first half.
00:12I think Newcastle actually started the game quite brightly first 10 minutes. That was something referenced by Eddie Howe after the game,
00:18but then dropped off a cliff really in the first half. The passing was disjointed.
00:22Eddie Howe started seven players who'd been on international duty, including all of the midfield three and the front three.
00:28And I think that showed that looked a little bit leggy, a little bit tired.
00:31Lack concentration at times. I point out to Joe Linton being a key one of that.
00:36And Anthony Alanga as well, who were the two players substituted at half-time by Eddie Howe.
00:39Eddie Howe explained those decisions were tactical, even though ahead of the game he'd reported Joe Linton had had a groin issue.
00:46So the fact Eddie Howe's coming out saying those were tactical decisions, he wasn't happy with the first half performance,
00:51tells you everything you need to do. And Anthony Alanga and Joe Linton were sacrificed because of that.
00:56But it wasn't Newcastle's performance as a whole, I'd say, although the team were not great by any means.
01:02Those two players in particular were the two worst players on the pitch, in my opinion, in the first half.
01:07And I think Anthony Alanga is one player who's come under the microscope a little bit recently.
01:12It's 11 games into his Newcastle career now. No goals, no assists.
01:15OK, he won the penalty in the Union-San-Gilwares game in the Champions League a couple of weeks ago.
01:20But other than that, lacked any goal contributions. And I think at the moment he's just cutting a figure out of a little bit of frustration.
01:28He joined for a big money move and maybe a lack of confidence as well.
01:32I think that could be seen where he broke clear. He had all of the pitch, all of the bright and hard for the pitch to run into.
01:38Pace to burn, one of the fastest players in the Premier League.
01:40And he slows up, he forgets the ball, he cuts back onto his left foot.
01:44And that's not the electrifying winger Newcastle United thought they were buying.
01:49And we just want to see more from Anthony Alanga. I'm sure he's only 23.
01:53I'm sure he's a player who will produce in time. And that was part of my question to Eddie Howe.
01:57I think two, three weeks ago, Eddie Howe was asked about Anthony Alanga's lack of goals and assists.
02:03And Eddie Howe at the time said, that's harsh to point that out, to highlight that.
02:06I said, now 11 games in, it's the same story. Is it still harsh to point that out?
02:11And he went, well, Newcastle as a whole need to be doing more.
02:15Anthony Alanga included in that. The wingers aren't doing enough.
02:17You're looking at the Premier League, eight games in, nine points from 24.
02:21They've only had three goal scorers in those eight games.
02:25Nick Valtemada has been brilliant. He can't do everything on his own though.
02:28He scored four goals in the Premier League for Newcastle, five in total.
02:32But only Bruno Gimurais has scored since Nick Valtemada's arrival, his goal against Nottingham Forest.
02:37Again, a moment of real quality. Newcastle aren't quite breaking down teams and having goals from elsewhere in the pitch other than Nick Valtemada at the moment.
02:45They're relying on those moments of quality, as we saw from Nick Valtemada at Brighton on Saturday, but as well as Bruno before that.
02:51And then the only other goal scorer was William Missoula against Liverpool, which was a sort of route one gung-ho type goal,
02:57which, ideally, Newcastle wouldn't want to be scoring. I mean, you're never going to complain any type of goal,
03:03but you're wanting to break down teams. You're wanting your wingers, the Anthony Alangas, Anthony Gordon,
03:09to be contributing goals, contributing assists, and players like Joe Linton, your number eight, Bruno, who has contributed this season.
03:15But they need to be pushing forward more and getting involved, grabbing goals, grabbing assists.
03:19And at the moment, it's just not quite clicking for Newcastle in an attacking sense.
03:22And at Brighton, it didn't really, again, it was one moment of real quality from Nick Valtemada.
03:26Lewis Miley, who came on for Joe Linton, I thought was very good in the second half, after a shaky start.
03:32Jacob Murphy comes in for Anthony Alanga. And look, we're four years into the takeover now.
03:36Jacob Murphy, for me, is still Newcastle's best right winger.
03:39He is simple. You know what you're going to get from him. He's technically sound.
03:44And we'll put balls into the box. We'll find teammates. And that's what you want from your wingers.
03:48Look, Anthony Alanga is much younger than Jacob Murphy. I'm sure he's got a higher ceiling.
03:52But at this moment in time, Jacob Murphy is still Newcastle United's best right winger, in my opinion.
03:57And for all the sort of shortcomings in an attacking sense for Newcastle, this season as a whole, really, bar Nick Valtemada.
04:05Defensively, they've been very solid. But I thought at Brighton, for the first time this season, really,
04:10certainly for the first time where they've been playing a partnership of Malik Chow and Sven Botman,
04:14they looked a little bit loose. The two goals Brighton scored just opened up.
04:19Gaps emerged too much between the midfield and the defence.
04:22And I thought Sven Botman and Malik Chow, particularly for the first goal with Sven Botman just backing off,
04:27playing Danny Welbeck on the side, probably had his most disappointing performance of the season so far.
04:33Not to be too critical of either player, because both have been brilliant this season.
04:37It was clear, because of how high they had been performing,
04:41that the levels just dropped on Saturday at Brighton, which, look, Newcastle's levels,
04:46compared to Forest and Union SG the game before, even Arsenal, to a degree,
04:51had dropped slightly, particularly in the first half.
04:52I thought they improved in the second half. They controlled the game.
04:55I think they deserved the equaliser when it came, but again, Brighton suck up on some simple goal,
05:00pass through the middle. Dan Byrne makes a great challenge, to be fair to him.
05:02Again, him playing out at left-back, not ideal for Newcastle, but Dan Byrne makes a great chance.
05:07Falls nicely to Danny Welbeck, who is just inevitable against Newcastle.
05:10He scores again for a player who's not really known, an attacking player who's not really known for scoring goals.
05:16He certainly has a knack of scoring goals against Newcastle United.
05:19I think it's four goals in his last four games against Newcastle.
05:22He's scored the winner. Brighton have won three of the last four games against Newcastle,
05:25and Danny Welbeck has scored the winner every time.
05:28So, that is disappointing, but that's just the nature of the game sometimes.
05:32And for Newcastle, it's a quick turnaround.
05:34Benfica on Tuesday night.
05:36I'll be at Eddie Howe's press conference on Monday at St. James' Park,
05:39as well as Jose Mabino, the Benfica manager, speaking later in the evening.
05:43So, we'll have all the coverage of that to come on the Shields Gazette,
05:46as well as looking ahead to that big match, Champions League match,
05:50at St. James' Park against Benfica on Tuesday night.
05:52And you can catch everything over on ShieldsGazette.com.
05:56I follow myself at DonSker on X, and of course, the Shields Gazette on Facebook as well.
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