Danny Welbeck’s 114th minute extra-time winner saw Brighton & Hove Albion win 2-1 from behind at Newcastle to reach the Quarter-Finals of 2024-25 FA Cup.
Welbeck chipped in a clinical on-the-turn 114th minute winner from Solly March’s past to complete Brighton’s comeback, as the Seagulls made it five consecutive wins in all competitions for the first time as a top-flight team.
Alexander Isak initially fired Newcastle in front from a 22nd minute penalty after ex Magpie, Yankuba Minteh had fouled Tino Livramento.
Minteh however pulled Brighton level with a neat one-two move with Joao Pedro which saw him tuck away a 44th minute strike to equalise.
Emotions boiled over in the closing minutes of normal time as Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon was red carded for a 83rd minute shove on Jan Paul van Hecke, before Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey was dismissed for an injury-time foul on Jacob Murphy.
Brighton will occupy ball number five in the Quarter-Finals draw which will be held upon the conclusion of Manchester United’s tie against Fulham, live on BBC One in the UK.
Speaking to ITV post-match, Welbeck was delighted to net the winner in a lively match and spoke of pride at his teammates’ performance.
“It’s great to get the winning goal. It was a solid team performance and there was a lot going on in that game today. Lots of ups and downs, but we stuck with it. I’m so proud of the lads.
“Newcastle can always put you under pressure. They are very dangerous, but we stuck to our guns and we put in a great shift.”
With just one point separating both clubs in the league and Brighton having won their league clash on Tyneside earlier this season, it wasn’t surprising that this tie began in a nervy fashion with Newcastle initially on the front foot as Isak saw a third-minute header blocked before he fired over the bar.
Both teams soon traded chances until Gordon played a 21st-minute pass into the box to Livramento, who found himself recklessly fouled by Minteh.
Isak stepped up a minute later on his return from a groin injury – which had sidelined him for Newcastle’s league loss at Liverpool in midweek – and calmly dispatched his spot-kick into the far-left corner to put the Magpies ahead in the tie.
The Swede’s goal marked Newcastle’s first FA Cup goal at home against the Seagulls since a 3-0 win in February 1930 at this exact same stage.
Brighton continued to push Newcastle hard in a see-saw finish to the first half until Joao Pedro played a clinical pass return pass forward, which Minteh latched onto and atoned for his earlier error against his former team with a calmly-composed strike past Martin Dubravka to restore parity at half-time.
Minteh’s strike also meant that this was the first FA Cup tie between Newcastle and Brighton at St James’ Park in which both teams found the net at least once.
With this competition representing the best chance of silverware for both clubs despite Newcastle having reached the Carabao Cup Final, it was unsurprising that an edgy start to the second half saw both teams turn each other over on the counter-attack.
Brighton soon mustered up the first notable second-half chance in the 65th minute as Jack Hinshelwood headed Van Hecke’s cross into Dubravka’s arms.
Hinshelwood soon found himself saving Brighton’s bacon with a crucial block to deny Isak barely a minute later, with the subsequent corner initially cleared until Newcastle substitute, Joe Willock nodded wide across goal from a rebound cross.
Both teams continued to push for the winner and tempers soon peaked in the 83rd minute as Gordon found himself red carded by referee, Anthony Taylor following a shove on Van Hecke, which meant that the Newcastle winger would miss the Carabao Cup Final unless the Magpies appeal against his three-match ban.
Brighton however imploded as they began to push for the winner as Lamptey was red carded in the first minute of injury time, having picked up a second yellow-card booking for a reckless lunge on Murphy.
With extra-time looking likely with both teams a man down, Schar surfaced as Newcastle’s unlikely hero a minute later with a right-footed volley from Guimaraes’ free-kick, only for VAR to intervene and disallow the goal for a marginal offside and guaranteed an extra half-hour of action.
Newcastle initially dominated the early phases of extra-time but Dubravka and Burn made crucial blocks to deny Brighton’s Diego Gomez then Welbeck’s rebound shot, before Mats Wieffer fired the second rebound shot wide.
Welbeck had netted Brighton’s winner on their league visit last autumn and once again proved their hero in the 114th minute as he met March’s pass and chipped in on the turn above Dubravka’s reach to send the Seagulls flying into the final eight of this season’s competition.
What’s Next?
Newcastle return to league action on Monday 10 March away at West Ham in a 8pm kick-off at the London Stadium, before they return to the capital just six days later to face Liverpool at Wembley in the Carabao Cup Final on 16 March.
Brighton meet Fulham at home on Saturday 8 March at 3pm in a huge Premier League clash, as both teams seek to continue their push for European qualification.
Teams
Newcastle: Martin Dubravka, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier (Targett 69′), Lewis Miley (Guimaraes 56′), Sandro Tonali, Joelinton (Willock 56′), Harvey Barnes (Murphy 56′), Alexander Isak (Wilson 86′), Anthony Gordon
Substitutes: Nick Pope, Callum Wilson, Matt Targett, Emil Krafth, William Osula, Jacob Murphy, Joe Willock, Sean Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes
Brighton: Bart Verbruggen, Tariq Lamptey, Jan Paul van Hecke, Adam Webster, Pervis Estupinan (Wieffer 80′), Carlos Baleba (Gomez 69′), Jack Hinshelwood, Yankuba Minteh (Gruda 69′), Georginio Rutter (Welbeck 80′), Kaoru Mitoma (March 91′), Joao Pedro
Substitutes: Tom McGill, Solly March, Brajan Gruda, Simon Adingra, Eiran Cashin, Diego Gomez, Yasin Ayari, Mats Wieffer, Danny Welbeck
Referee – Anthony Taylor