Ayoze Pérez pounces to sink Brighton and put Newcastle top in late fightback

Newcastle United have reasserted an impression of control over the Championship. Rafael Benítez and his triumphant players strode across the turf after the final whistle here to salute a boisterous away support, the massed ranks heaving in the stand behind Karl Darlow’s goal, with that familiar chorus hailing leadership of this division having swiftly taken on a Geordie twang.

The destiny of the title was not decided here, as Benítez was quick to stress, but a significant psychological blow may have been struck. The celebrations, raucous and prolonged, revealed as much. They were fuelled by the unlikely nature of their success. Brighton & Hove Albion, top at kick-off and excellent for long periods, had led the blistering contest from early on and regularly stretched Darlow and his defence, until yielding cruelly at the last.

There had been only nine minutes remaining when the visitors clawed themselves level with a freakish equaliser, and the game had entered its final 60 seconds of normal time when Ayoze Pérez pilfered the victory. Brighton have proved themselves at times this term to be the best team in this division but Newcastle are recognised as boasting the deepest squad. That the Spaniard stole the win with his first meaningful touch was a reminder of the depth of talent at their disposal. There was satisfaction to be had in leapfrogging their hosts to open a two-point lead at the top, particularly with tricky trips to Huddersfield and Reading ahead.

“We have had great games this season but the main thing here was we were playing a very good team,” said Benítez. “Coming from behind, against a side like Brighton … so, yes, it is the most satisfying.” This was the first time Newcastle have won after shipping the opening goal this season. The counter-punch to that quirk is it was also the first occasion, at the 19th attempt, Brighton have not won a game after scoring the first goal.

There was no disgrace in defeat, not least given the fortunate nature of Newcastle’s equaliser, but the late collapse seemed brutal. Darlow’s excellence, and a goal-line clearance from Paul Dummett when the goalkeeper did err, had kept the home side within reach for all that Newcastle were incensed at Bobby Madley’s award of the penalty that had set them back early on. The referee had marched to the centre of the scrum on the edge of the six-yard box, while Anthony Knockaert was still waiting to deliver a corner, to warn players from both sides that any hint of wrestling might be penalised, yet there was still an inevitability about the tussle which ensued between Glenn Murray and Ciaran Clark. Perhaps key was Jamaal Lascelles’ nudge on the striker, still grappling with his marker, which sent him crumpling to the turf.

“But you can’t give a penalty in this kind of game from that situation,” bemoaned Benítez. Murray had not appealed with any great conviction but picked himself up to slot in a 17th goal of the campaign as reward for Brighton’s initial effervescence.

Yet, for all that the hosts always retained a threat on the counterattack, usually from the excellent Knockaert, Newcastle steadily wrested back an element of control. They clicked whenever Jonjo Shelvey had time on the ball, or whenever Christian Atsu could scuttle with menace at his fellow Chelsea loanee Fikayo Tomori, as the youngster struggled in an unfamiliar left-back berth. David Stockdale thwarted the Ghanaian winger, and ensured his own error was not punished by blocking from Yoan Gouffran but, with the hamstrung Dwight Gayle missed, it was only when Daryl Murphy sprung from the bench that the visitors showed the required punch to make their mark.

The Irishman’s impact, raw aggression leading the line, served to force Brighton back. He won two headers and, from the second, Stockdale punched out Matt Ritchie’s delivery. The ball looped to Atsu whose volley skewed from his boot, flicked off Murphy and cannoned into Mohamed Diamé’s ankle to loop up over Tomori on the goal-line. It was a fluke of a goal, an equaliser to deflate the home side and erode their authority in an instant.

“It gave a very, very strong Newcastle team a little bit of momentum going into that last period,” said Brighton’s Chris Hughton. “But they are by far the best squad in the division, and the winning goal showed the quality they have at their disposal.” That was plucked at the death, Ritchie arcing a glorious crossfield pass over Bruno Salter on the opposite flank for Atsu to collect on the charge.

His squared pass was finished emphatically and gleefully by Pérez in the centre, with Brighton’s rearguard pulled out of position and pierced. It was a goal befitting the top division, where both these clubs are surely heading. Newcastle, with the best away record in the second tier, can approach those tricky trips next week with confidence. Brighton, with only 10 defeats in 81 Championship games, will have the resilience to recover from this setback. “I see us bouncing back, because we have to,” added Hughton. “We have no choice. But the closer we stay to Newcastle, the better chance we have of going up.”