Newcastle beat Brighton to ease pressure on Eddie Howe with owners in attendance

By Rebecca Johnson, Press Association

Newcastle snapped their four-game Premier League losing run with a 3-1 win over Brighton in front of their owners at St James’ Park.

Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and co-owner Jamie Reuben were in attendance following their meeting with boss Eddie Howe at Matfen Hall on Thursday as the Magpies took a 2-0 lead in at half-time.

Will Osula opened the scoring with his third goal in four Premier League games, and Dan Burn soon doubled their lead with a header against his old club.

The Seagulls pulled one back just after the hour mark when Jack Hinshelwood found the top corner, but Harvey Barnes wrapped up three points deep into added time.

Defeat ends Brighton’s five-game unbeaten run as they slip to seventh in the standings.

Newcastle made one change from the defeat to Arsenal with Joelinton starting and Danny Welbeck was the sole change for Brighton following their triumph over Chelsea.

A bright start from the Seagulls saw them come close in the opening minutes when Hinshelwood was denied by a diving stop from Nick Pope and Carlos Baleba had his long-range attempt skim off the top of the crossbar.

Newcastle had their first attempt when Osula fired narrowly wide of the upright, but the striker soon capitalised moments later.

Bruno Guimaraes picked out Jacob Murphy on the right and the winger remained on his feet to evade Bart Verbruggen, who came flying out of the box, before crossing into Osula to head into an empty net 12 minutes in.

Brighton were forced into an early change when Joel Veltman replaced Mats Wieffer and they tested Pope with some promising deliveries before Newcastle struck again.

The Magpies doubled their advantage in the 24th minute when Burn’s flicked header from Guimaraes’ corner landed in the far side of the net.

However, Brighton almost pulled one back when Pope’s clearance smashed into Hinshelwood and the ball hit the post.

Verbruggen palmed away Joe Willock’s effort and Newcastle continued to threaten, with Malick Thiaw denied by the Brighton goalkeeper before Sven Botman fired over.

Welbeck headed over from Olivier Boscagli’s cross as Brighton searched for a response before the break.

A menacing Guimaraes cross was deflected into the path of Verbruggen by Jan Paul van Hecke early in the second half.

Brighton had opportunities as Kaoru Mitoma was penalised for handball after initially forcing Pope into a low save and had a shot blocked before Hinshelwood headed over.

The Seagulls pulled one back following a quick exchange of passes outside the area, and Welbeck threaded the ball into Hinshelwood to smash into the top corner in the 61st minute.

Another opportunity then saw Pascal Gross’s teasing cross whizz through the six-yard box and just past Van Hecke at the back post.

A cagey battle then ensued and Pope made a great stop from Charalampos Kostoulas’ overhead kick in the 86th minute.

Former Newcastle winger Yankuba Minteh then blasted over the bar and, at the opposite end, Yoane Wissa fired well over.

Joelinton rolled an effort wide before Barnes fired high into the roof of goal in the fifth minute of added time to seal a much-needed win for the Magpies.