Newcastle United rescued a late point at Brighton & Hove Albion to keep their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League in their own hands.
Eddie Howe’s side had won six of their previous seven top-flight matches but seemed destined for defeat on the south coast, a result which would have left them vulnerable to the teams below them.
But Alexander Isak’s 89th-minute penalty — Newcastle were awarded three during this match, but the first two were overturned — puts them three points clear of the teams below them.
Fifth-placed Chelsea and sixth-placed Nottingham Forest both have a game in hand, while seventh-placed Aston Villa are also three points behind Howe’s side but have played the same number of games.
Yankuba Minteh, a necessary sale last summer for financial reasons, put Brighton ahead with a curling first-half effort and it seemed that might be enough to win it.
But Isak’s late penalty salvaged a point for Newcastle at the end of a second half packed with penalty drama (more on that below).
George Caulkin and Chris Waugh analyse the key talking points.
Third time lucky for Newcastle
As anonymous as Isak was for large spells — he did not have a touch inside the opposition box until the 67th minute and had just 15 in general during the first half — Newcastle did have their moments and finally, at the third time of asking, were awarded a penalty which stood.
It took some getting there, mind.
In the 51st minute Mats Wieffer, who was already on a yellow card, slid into a challenge with Sandro Tonali and caught the Newcastle midfielder. Had he not already been booked, he would surely have received a yellow, but he survived, only for Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler to immediately replace Wieffer with Tariq Lamptey.
Sandro Tonali was able to carry on after being fouled (Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
The substitute’s first act was to foul Anthony Gordon, who had only just come on to the field for Newcastle, and with his opening contribution he cut inside and drew a foul. Initially, Craig Pawson, the referee, pointed to the spot, but VAR intervened to (rightly) rule that contact had taken place outside the box.
Then, in the 70th minute, Bruno Guimaraes played a pass in behind the Brighton defence, Joe Willock got a foot to the ball before Jan Paul van Hecke and went down. Van Hecke, it turns out, had actually pulled out of the challenge and Willock, seemingly anticipating contact, went over.
Pawson had initially signalled for a penalty but, after being sent over to the monitor by Andrew Madley, the VAR official, the referee again rescinded his call, instead booking Willock for diving.
The third on-field award came after Fabian Schar’s goalbound free kick from inside the D of the Brighton penalty area was blocked by the outstretched arm of Yasin Ayari, the substitute. VAR checked to see whether the ball had indeed hit Ayari’s hand but, having asked Pawson to rethink his previous two penalty decisions, told the referee to stick with his original call.
It proved third time lucky for Newcastle because, in the 89th minute, with only his second touch in the opposition box, Isak coolly dispatched his second penalty in as many games to rescue a valuable point for Newcastle.
Chris Waugh
Minteh, an influential figure once again
Yankuba Minteh has now scored against his former club in league and cup this season (Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images)
Given he did not make an appearance for Newcastle, Minteh has played an outsized role in the club’s recent existence, becoming a vital kind of irritant.
On the one hand, they needed him, if only in the sense they needed him to leave. Without the £30million (£40m) Brighton paid for the winger last summer, Newcastle would have breached the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), and a substantive points deduction would have rendered the notion of qualifying for the Champions League moot.
On the other, they are now pretty sick of him. Having scored for his new club at St James’ Park in the FA Cup in March — Brighton won that game 2-1 after extra time — Minteh was at it again, niggling away at Newcastle before chipping in with another goal.
When Tino Livramento headed away a ball into the box in the 28th minute, Minteh reacted smartly, cutting in and around Livramento and Sandro Tonali after feinting to shoot. His curled finish took a nick off Dan Burn.
Minteh had refused to celebrate his goal on Tyneside out of respect to Newcastle, but it was different on the south coast. He wagged his fingers at the traveling supporters and kissed the Brighton badge before being pulled away by his team-mates. Newcastle fans responded with chants of “You’re just a s*** Jacob Murphy,” but Minteh had made an impact again.
George Caulkin
A vital point or two dropped?
Newcastle left it late — very late — to turn a bad day at the office into a half-decent one.
The experience was a familiar one for Howe’s team, who have not won any of their eight Premier League fixtures at Brighton’s Amex Stadium, but on this occasion they were not passive participants.
While Newcastle struggled to get their big players into the game, they had more possession than Brighton, more shots and more corners. Most importantly, they did not allow a bitty performance and some unfavourable decisions to grind them down. They kept going.
The final scoreline suggests Newcastle missed a significant opportunity given that a victory would have seen them move two points behind second-placed Arsenal. As it was, they finished the game fourth in the Premier League, three points ahead of Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.
The circumstances paint a slightly different picture, however, with Isak’s penalty earning a draw which for long spells looked out of reach.
With three games still to play, qualifying for the Champions League remains within their grasp, although they next play Chelsea and Arsenal before finishing the season with a home match against Everton.
Nothing is determined, but this game allowed one conclusion to be drawn: Newcastle will not give up without a fight.
George Caulkin
What next for Newcastle?
Sunday, May 11: Chelsea (Home), Premier League, 12pm UK, 7am ET
(Top photo: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)