Tuesday talking point: Fans had no fear of a Brighton comeback

Norman Riley, True Faith NUFC fanzine and podcast

Newcastle United took another huge step towards survival with an excellent home win over Brighton.

Match reports and voices on social media suggested that Brighton were unlucky. However, despite all their possession, as soon as Newcastle went two up after 14 minutes, the confidence fans have in this team and manager meant many had no fear of a Brighton comeback.

Much like the performances against Villa and West Ham, Howe’s lads restricted Brighton to playing nice football up to a point. As soon as the Seagulls got into the final third, they came up against a wall of a midfield and defence. Martin Dubravka made only one save of note.

Once again, Ryan Fraser was superb. His performances on the pitch, his body language and his post-match interviews suggest a player who has at last found himself at the club. Not only was his lung-busting run and speed of thought to score the first goal superb, his cross for Fabian Schar’s excellent header was sublime. Schar’s recent form also shows he was another player misunderstood by the previous regime. 

Seeing Allan Saint-Maximin back on the pitch was a huge lift, especially before away games at Southampton, Chelsea and Everton in the space of seven days.

The players might need a little bit of rotation, but the truth is, regardless of how Eddie manages these next three fixtures, there is no doubt Newcastle will be competitive, well organised and capable of getting results, whatever team he puts out.

HOWAY.