Danny Welbeck’s first goals at the Amex Stadium since February secured Brighton a 2-1 Premier League victory against Newcastle.
Welbeck’s smart finish just before the break had put Brighton in control and Fabian Hurzeler’s side looked on course to continue their good home record against Newcastle.
That was until Nick Woltemade produced a sublime moment of skill. His flicked back-heel finish, described as “cheeky” by Sue Smith on Soccer Saturday, looked to have rescued a point for the visitors, but Welbeck had other ideas.
The 34-year-old former England forward, whose incredible resurgence is showing no signs of slowing down, fired home for his second double in three games as Brighton made it three wins this season against Champions League opposition to move ninth in the table.
On Welbeck’s performance, Hurzeler said: “It was impressive. I focused on how he was without the ball. He made the recovery runs. If the team plays well, then the individuals will shine.
The game was full of tempo and Brighton, who lost Diego Gomez after 35 minutes, deservedly led going into half-time.
Georginio Rutter took possession in midfield and seemed to wrong-foot Sandro Tonali and the rest of the Newcastle midfield with a clever, sudden burst down the centre before rolling the ball up for Welbeck, who glided into the space between the two central defenders to finish with composure.
Danny Welbeck restores Brighton’s lead against Newcastle
Newcastle were denied an opportunity for an equaliser after a VAR check ruled out a possible handball against Mats Wieffer, but they were level moments later thanks to Woltemade’s moment of magic.
Lewis Miley’s reverse ball was behind the striker but his back-heel across goal and into the corner looked to have gained Newcastle, who are still yet to win away from home in the league this season, a share of the spoils.
It was a moment of brilliance from Woltemade. It was very creative the way he flicks the ball around. It’s cheeky and to get that sort of power to find the bottom corner, it was superb.
Again, though, Welbeck showed his composure again to curl home Brighton’s winner.
“I love it,” Welbeck said. “I have the passion and love for football. It’s what I want to do. I feel good. I feel strong and fit so I won’t be stopping soon.
On playing into his 40s, he added: “I’m not looking that far ahead. I’m just enjoying my football and feeling strong. I’m enjoying the present.”
‘I never thought we would lose’
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler:
“I never thought we would lose it, so I have the biggest belief in my team. We showed resilience, character and personality.
“We kept the structure quite well and I’m really pleased. The key thing was a good structure and being patient, so don’t force it.
“Have different patterns in the final third. I thought we had a good variation, a good flexibility. I was pleased. Overall, in possession, it was really good.”
‘We want to build a fortress at the Amex’
Brighton striker Danny Welbeck:
“It’s a big win. At home, we’ve not quite had the results we wanted to get this season. We wanted to be better and we knew we could be better today.
“It was an incredible pass from Georgi. We have an incredible connection. We’re looking to build on that, keep on progressing and getting better.
“It’s always difficult to win a Premier League game. We’ve had many times where we’ve gone ahead and maybe not got the points. We have the mentality to go again and get the points.
“It’s nice to get another goal and put us in a winning position. We want to build a fortress and we’re on our way to doing that.”
Howe: Midfield did not function at Brighton
Newcastle boss Howe highlighted his midfield’s struggles afterwards.
He said: “We are disappointed with the first half performance, really. We faded and the last half hour was hard to watch. Brighton scored in that period. We were pleased to get in at 1-0 and regroup.
“[The midfield] are brilliant players but they didn’t function well today. But I don’t think the team did.
“When we conceded the second goal, we were the dominant team. We responded really well in the second half. They didn’t have many attacks in that spell but they did go and score.”
