3 Positives and 3 Negatives to take from Brighton 2 Newcastle 1 | OneFootball

Saturday afternoon’s match ended Brighton 2 Newcastle 1.

Ahead of each game we ask one of our writers to come up with three positives and three negatives following the match.

On this occasion it is The Armchair Fan giving his positives and negatives…

The Toon travelled to Brighton on Saturday afternoon hoping to claim three points and ease their way towards the top six.

Unfortunately, the reality was somewhat different, as a jaded performance from the Magpies was punished by the seagulls, who scored late on to secure a 2-1 win.

Woltemade

Just how good is our new striker?!

That’s now five goals for our giant German who has shown quick feet, good hold up play and an eye for goal.

Saturday really showcased his skill with a backheel flick that completely wrongfooted the Brighton ‘keeper.

This was a brilliant goal from a striker on top of his game, long may it continue.

Fixtures

Our opening fixtures have presented a number of tricky ties to be navigated, both home and away.

Our three next league opponents of Fulham, West Ham and Brentford provide the ideal opportunity to get nine more points on the board and climb the league table, providing both form and confidence for NUFC.

Don’t forget, the Toon were in the bottom half of the league last December before some incredible form saw us qualify for the Champions League.

Squad

With our bench looking stronger each week and a return from injury to come for Livramento, Hall and Wissa, we finally have a squad capable of competing across competitions.

Saturday saw the introduction of Miley and Murphy at half-time and United instantly looked more threatening. It was Miley who set up the equaliser for Woltemade and having players available to change the game will stand us in good stead for the rest of the season.

Result

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, football is a results business and losing to Brighton is simply not good enough if we’re serious about qualifying again for the Champions League.

Scoring an equaliser with fifteen minutes left provided the perfect springboard to go and achieve all three points, unfortunately we once again failed to take the initiative and left with nothing.

League table

We started the weekend with ambitions of being in the top six but now find ourselves in a lowly thirteenth position.

This could even drop to fourteenth should Brentford win their game on Monday night and is only four points off the relegation places.

The sight of a certain red and white clad team in the top seven does little to improve my feelings on the matter.

Form

Two wins, two draws and two defeats in our past six league matches demonstrates a complete lack of consistency.

We need to start putting a run of form together before the manic December period, to avoid being completely cut adrift of the European places.

Cup victories over Bradford and Union SG were enjoyable but our bread and butter is the Premier League and now is the time to start winning matches week in week out.

Brighton 2 Newcastle 1 – Saturday 18 October 2025 3pm

(Stats via BBC Sport)

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Woltemade 76

Brighton:

Welbeck 41, 85

Possession was Newcastle 54% Brighton 46%

Total shots were Newcastle 16 Brighton 13

Shots on target were Newcastle 3 Brighton 5

Corners were Newcastle 4 Brighton 8

Touches in the box Newcastle 25 Brighton 29

Newcastle team v Brighton:

Pope, Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Burn, Bruno (Osula 86), Joelinton (Miley 46), Tonali (Ramsey 70), Gordon (Barnes 70), Woltemade, Elanga (Murphy 46)

Unused subs:

Ramsdale, Krafth, Willock, Schar

(Newcastle United losing to the likes of Brighton…Read HERE)