Safety is in sight for Toon as hot streak continues with gritty win
NEWCASTLE United clawed their way closer to Premier League safety as they secured a hard fought but deserved 2-1 victory over Brighton at St James’ Park.
This triumph – their fifth in six matches – now puts clear daylight between themselves and the bottom three with a sevenpoint gap between United and 18th-placed Burnley, who were thumped 4-0 at home to Chelsea.
Fabian Schar and Ryan Fraser, both of whom set up goals in last week’s win at Brentford, were the scorers this time, though United had to stay strong and defend resolutely after Lewis Dunk pulled one back in the second half.
Newcastle may still be sitting in 14th place but they now have breathing space ahead of a mammoth four-game stretch of road trips.
It may have been nervy towards the end but Newcastle were full value for all three points after storming into an early 2-0 lead.
United tested Brighton after only 90 seconds when Joe Willock got down the right before whipping in a cross for Fraser, whose shot was straight at goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in the visiting goal.
The Seagulls responded after winning a corner but centre-back Shane Duffy could only head wide.
But Newcastle grabbed the lead on 12 minutes after Chris Wood’s superb through ball found Jacob Murphy.
The former Norwich winger raced through before dinking the ball off the post but Fraser followed in and applied the finish to make it 1-0.
Within two minutes that lead had been doubled and it appeared United’s nine-match winless run against the Seagulls in the Premier League was set to come to an end.
Scotland winger Fraser floated in a superb free-kick with Schar rising high to power home a header and extend the advantage to 2-0.
At that point opposing boss Graham Potter simply slumped into his seat with his head down with St James’ Park absolutely jumping.
However, Brighton, to their credit, kept going and Newcastle were indebted to Martin Dubravka who made a sprawling save to deny Danny Welbeck on the half-hour mark.
After coming through a late injury scare, Matt Targett won a corner for
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Newcastle on 43 minutes. The Aston Villa loanee swung the ball in for former Brighton man Dan Burn but he headed wide of the target.
A mix-up moments later then handed Murphy a chance but he struck it straight at the keeper.
Despite commanding two-goal cushion, Brighton bossed possession and managed nine shots in the first half but only one of those was on target.
If the visitors felt frustrated after the first 45 minutes, though, they were boosted inside the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Leandro Trossard’s corner was drifted in and Dunk got up ahead of Dubravka to head home.
Brighton made a double change just before the hour mark as Neal Maupay and Solly March came on for Jakub Moder and Tariq Lamptey. Potter’s attacking gamble put pressure on the Magpies, who continued to drop back, with the momentum now firmly with the visitors.
Duffy was booked for a late challenge on Wood on 64 minutes and Howe then made his first change of the day when he introduced Allan Saint-maximin, back after injury, for Murphy to try to wrestle back control.
But it was the visitors who kept on pushing and Newcastle were again indebted to Dubravka for a fine save to deny Dunk with 20 minutes left.
Newcastle made their next change when Fraser came off to a standing ovation to be replaced by Bruno Guimaraes. The move paid off as the Brazilian international helped United soak up some of the pressure in midfield.
The game became scrappy in the closing stages with Joelinton booked for lashing out at Marc Cucurella, with the Magpies clinging on for dear life.
United ate up a few more seconds in injury time when Sean Longstaff came on for Willock. Despite some late jitters Newcastle held on for a big win and go into Thursday’s clash at Southampton with their unbeaten league run now at eight matches.