Eddie Howe watched from the stands as Newcastle drew 1-1 at Brighton, making them the only winless side in the Premier League.
The real drama came in the final minute of the game as Robert Sanchez saw red for tripping Callum Wilson outside the box as he rounded the goalkeeper and looked to roll the ball into an empty net. Defender Lewis Dunk went in goal for the five minutes of injury-time, but Newcastle failed to test him.
Howe, sat next to Amanda Staveley at the Amex having agreed a deal in principle with the club, would not have liked what he saw early on, shaking his head at the referee’s decision to hand Brighton a penalty via VAR after Ciaran Clark had tripped Leandro Trossard, who converted the spot-kick himself (24).
Brighton failed to grab a second despite Newcastle showing little attacking intent into the final quarter of the game, and they were punished as Isaac Hayden struck low past Sanchez from Clark’s knock-down in the box (66).
Newcastle will feel hard done by after the Wilson incident, but the draw means they move up to 19th, having temporarily replaced Norwich at the bottom of the Premier League, sitting on five points from 11 games, five points from safety. Brighton move up a place to sixth.
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Full report to follow
Newcastle’s upcoming fixtures
November 20: Brentford (H)
November 27: Arsenal (A)
November 30: Norwich (H)
December 4: Burnley (H)
December 12: Leicester (A) – live on Sky Sports Premier League
December 16: Liverpool (A)
What’s next?
Brighton now go to Aston Villa at 3pm on Saturday November 20 after the international fortnight, while Newcastle host Brentford at the same time.