DULL STALEMATE SEALS SURVIVAL FOR BRIGHTON
GIVEN its significance, Brighton would not have cared too much how the point they needed for safety finally came. As it was, it arrived in a desperately boring draw that unfolded exactly how it looked in the early evening July sun — like a pre-season friendly.
It was almost certain Brighton would not get dragged into danger due to their goal difference. Though it was not until the final whistle against Newcastle that what seemed inevitable when they won at Norwich earlier this month was confirmed. Brighton can now enjoy the season’s last week knowing they are certain of another year in the Premier League and leave the stressing to others.
Of the six sides who began Project Restart sweating over survival, Brighton became the first to guarantee their safety. In keeping with how he made his millions, chairman Tony Bloom gambled to replace Chris Hughton with Graham Potter last summer.
Yet Potter could end his first season having evolved Brighton’s squad and, potentially, with a club-record Premier League points haul. ‘I read before lockdown someone saying I should be getting my P45. That’s football for you,’ he said.
‘We’re delighted to get over the line.’ That Newcastle had crossed it some time ago was underlined once again by much of their performance here. The cap-wearing Mat Ryan was tested more by the sun than the Toon attack. But Brighton did not offer much either, though Newcastle’s Martin Dubravka at least had to dirty his gloves to deny Lewis Dunk, Leandro Trossard and Adam Webster. Newcastle manager Steve Bruce, enduring a ‘frustrating’ wait for the club’s takeover confirmation, said: ‘That’s our tenth game in 35 days. We’ve got a lot of tired bodies.’
BRIGHTON (4-2-3-1): Ryan; Lamptey (Duffy 86), Dunk, Webster, Burn; Bissouma (Propper 73), Stephens; Gross (MacAllister 58), Trossard, Mooy (March 58); Maupay (Murray 73). Subs not used: Button, Montoya, Cochrane, Connolly. Booked: Bissouma, Gross, Stephens, Webster. NEWCASTLE (4-3-3): Dubravka; Manquillo, Krafth, Fernandez, Rose; Ritchie, Bentaleb, Shelvey; Almiron (Lazaro 86), Saint-Maximin, (Joelinton 74), Gayle (Carroll 74). Subs not used: Darlow, Muto, Yedlin, Atsu, Longstaff, Watts. Booked: Ritchie, Rose. Man of the match: Lewis Dunk. Referee: Simon Hooper.