SHOOTOUT JOY FOR SEAGULLS
1 1
AET – score after 90 mins 1- 1. Brighton win 4- 3 on pens
ROB COLE
BRIGHTON had to survive a massive scare against League Two Newport to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round.
The Seagulls finally beat County after extra time and penalties when Adam Webster scored the crucial kick.
Yves Bissouma, Neal Maupay and Leandro dro Trossard all missed d for Brighton.
In regular time, Solly March thought he’d scored a last- gasp winner for the Seagulls as he curled ed home a superb shot t f from the edge of the D into the bottom corner.
But a Webster own- goal in the 96th minute sent the tie into extra time. With eight seconds left to play, keeper Jason Steele somehow missed his punch from a deep cross and the ball cannoned in off Webster ( top).
Brighton boss Graham Potter ( circle) had said he would take no chances and he didn’t, although when Matty Dolan sent FA Cup ace marksman Padraig
Amond racing onto a long ball he almost made it seven goals in nine cup ties, with a lob to the right corner that just missed.
Having ridden that early storm, the Seagulls settled down to dominate possession and territory.
The pitch played better than expected and
Bissouma pulled all the strings in midfield to keep his side on the attack. And it was a Bissouma shot from 30 yards that forced Wales squad keeper Tom King into a series of fine saves to keep the home
Newport
Brighton
side in the game before the break. He pushed away at full stretch a bullet- like header from Lewis Dunk at a corner, held onto an Alexis Mac Allister shot and then somehow denied Andi Zeqiri.
It wasn’t all one- way traffic, though, and Steele was very happy to see his skipper, Lewis Dunk, save his blushes by clearing a goalbound lob over his head from Amond after an awful back pass from Pascal Gross. New Newport started the sec second half far m more brightly and p pushed wingbacks Ryan H Haynes and Liam S Shephard higher up the pitch. Josh Shee Sheehan saw more of the ball and Brighton had to defend far more than they had done.
Zeqiri’s header from a Ben White cross being the best chance before sub Davy Propper pulled a shot across the goal that missed by inches and then Sheehan forced Steele ( above) to make a great save eight minutes from the end of normal time from a fierce shot.
Neither team could find a way through in extra time, so it went to spot- kicks.