Newcastle snap slump as Osula, Burn and Barnes sink Brighton 3-1

Newcastle 3 Brighton 1 brought overdue relief for Eddie Howe after five straight league defeats. The St James' Park crowd left believing again, the win trimming Brighton's cushion in the European chase and giving Newcastle impetus for the final stretch.

Howe stuck with the 4-2-3-1 that had been stuttering, and it clicked almost immediately. In the 12th minute William Osula converted Jacob Murphy's low cross to finish a rapid counter. The early goal restored belief to an attack that had been wasteful throughout April and rewarded Murphy, who repeatedly found pockets of space outside Ferdi Kadıoğlu.

Fabian Hürzeler was forced into a rethink when Mats Wieffer hobbled off after 18 minutes, Joël Veltman stepping in. Four minutes later Veltman collected a booking and, when Dan Burn scored in the 24th minute from Bruno Guimarães' delivery, Brighton’s defensive structure appeared rattled. Burn was cautioned himself in the 53rd minute, yet he and Sven Botman still dominated their area and repelled a stream of Brighton crosses.

Brighton controlled possession at 67 percent but too often at walking pace. Hürzeler’s 4-2-3-1 leaned on Pascal Groß and Carlos Baleba to unpick Newcastle’s low block. Kaoru Mitoma’s 39th-minute yellow card summed up the visitors’ frustration, though they found a lifeline when Danny Welbeck teed up Jack Hinshelwood to score in the 61st minute. That passage exposed Newcastle’s lingering vulnerability when Sandro Tonali and Guimarães tracked runners while Joelinton pressed higher.

Howe’s response on 68 minutes was decisive: Yoane Wissa, Lewis Hall and Harvey Barnes replaced Osula, Joe Willock and Murphy. Wissa injected pace on the counter—despite an 87th-minute booking for a tangle near halfway—Hall tightened the left flank, and Barnes, lively from his first touch, settled matters with a composed finish in the 90th minute. Brighton’s back line had already been stretched after Maxim De Cuyper was introduced in the 81st minute, and the substitute winger punished the disorganisation ruthlessly.

A scrappy finale yielded further cards. Tonali was booked in the 85th minute for delaying a restart, Hürzeler was cautioned in the 87th minute amid protests, and Jan Paul van Hecke saw yellow in the second minute of stoppage time. Jacob Ramsey replaced Guimarães in the 90+1st minute to help Joelinton, tireless throughout, see out the points.

Guimarães set the platform with a first-half assist and relentless duels that kept Newcastle compact, while Tonali’s three key passes consistently split Brighton between the lines. Murphy stretched Kadıoğlu effectively before departing. At the back, Nick Pope’s three saves and the Botman–Malick Thiaw partnership limited Welbeck and later Georginio Rutter, who never replicated the space he enjoyed in the reverse fixture.

Key stats:

• Possession: Newcastle 33 percent, Brighton 67 percent
• Expected goals: Newcastle 3.27, Brighton 1.64
• Shots on target: Newcastle 6, Brighton 4
• Corners: Newcastle 2, Brighton 10

The result keeps Newcastle in the mix for a top-half finish. Howe now has a solid platform before the final three fixtures, with the internal message clear: retain the aggressive front four that shone here and the table could offer further gains. Brighton remain seventh and must reset quickly under Hürzeler with rivals closing fast.