Incessant Newcastle pressure was the order of the opening 15 minutes, but as chances went begging for the Magpies, there was a growing sense of frustration inside St. James’ Park.
And that was only added to when Lewis Dunk’s last-ditch block denied Joelinton an almost certain goal.
However, Newcastle’s pressure bore fruit in unlikely circumstances mere moments later, as Deniz Undav inadvertently flicked Kieran Trippier’s delivery from the resulting corner into his own net.
For all the clamour around Brighton after their 3-0 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, the Seagulls were uncharacteristically poor in the first half, with one high, wide and not-so-handsome Kaoru Mitoma effort the only threat they managed to produce before the interval.
And the visitors’ complete lack of intensity was punished again on the stroke of half-time, when another Trippier delivery was this time headed home by a striped shirt, with former Brighton man Dan Burn guiding home Newcastle’s second.
Whatever Roberto De Zerbi said (or perhaps roared!) in the dressing room at the interval did the trick, and Brighton halved the arrears shortly after the break when Billy Gilmour’s deft ball was finished with aplomb by the redeemed own goal scorer Undav.
While that goal didn’t particularly change the flow of the game, Brighton were left kicking themselves when they failed to level the scores with 20 minutes left on the clock, as an unmarked Julio Enciso flashed a header wide of the target.
Newcastle reacted well and subsequently put the icing and cherry on the proverbial cake in quick succession as the clock hit 90’, with Callum Wilson firstly firing low into the net in a one-on-one situation, before immediately turning provider and allowing Bruno Guimaraes to turn in from close range.
While Brighton’s European ambitions have taken a severe hit, this result means Newcastle are guaranteed European football after more than a decade’s absence, with a home finale against second-bottom Leicester to follow on Monday as they continue to hunt down a precious Champions League berth.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle United)
