Newcastle 1-1 Brighton: Final home game of 2023/24 ends in frustrating draw

A 1-1 draw with Brighton in our final home game of the season all but confirms the highest we can finish in the league is sixth.

We never really hit top gear and our final ball often let us down on a day where both sides seem to struggle in the heat.

Spurs winning against Burnley means the gap opens to six points with just two games remaining - while Chelsea can move level on points if they win at Nottingham Forest.

A VAR-check denied Anthony Gordon from securing the three points late on as the lineman’s flag had been raised for offside.

Despite trailing through Joel Veltman’s opener, we struck back through a geordie-to-geordie set up to level proceedings. Elliot Anderson set up Sean Longstaff who made no mistake as he banged home into the middle of the net late in first half injury time.

We huffed and puffed in the second half and saw Harvey Barnes waste a few good openings, with Alexander Isak coming off shortly after the hour mark. It was a surprise at the time, but Eddie Howe admitted after the game that he was unwell yesterday, which makes sense based on his slightly subdued display.

A frustrating result that allows the likes of Chelsea and Man Utd back into it ahead of the final two games of the season, but our fate is in our own hands ahead of trips to Old Trafford and Brentford.

Whatever happens over the next week, Eddie Howe and the players deserve huge credit. We’ve had no luck with injuries and faced so many challenges, yet we’ve come through fighting, are still competing for Europe and will head into 2024/25 all the better for these experiences.

NUFC XI: Dubravka – Livramento, Krafth, Burn, Hall – Longstaff, Bruno, Anderson – Murphy, Isak, Gordon.

SUBS: Pope, Dummett, A Murphy, Trippier, Almiron, Joelinton, Ritchie, White, Barnes.