Newcastle United will be kicking themselves.
Indeed, better finishing would surely have seen Newcastle move into the ascendancy against a Brighton side who looked there for the taking in the opening 35 minutes or so on Saturday.
Still, Eddie Howe’s side failed to put the ball in the back of the net, much to the frustration of Alan Shearer.
Even the best teams can lose when they don’t finish their chances and are caught on the counter. However, to suggest that’s exactly what happened on St James’ Park on Saturday would be giving far too much credit to Newcastle.
While it is true they dominated for much of the opening period and Danny Welbeck’s winner came against the run of play, little about Newcastle convinced after that point.
The Newcastle United manager could just not find a way to inject some creativity into his ranks, having admitted his substitutions did not work.
One of those who was taken off was Sandro Tonali (for Joe Willock in the 66th minute) and Howe was asked about the midfielder after the game.
Eddie Howe responds after Sandro Tonali taken off for Newcastle against Brighton
There have been suggestions the decision to replace Tonali was met with a smattering of boos, both by Newcastle World and Craig Hope.
While Howe did not go into the reaction to the call, he did suggest he was happy with Tonali’s performance, believing Newcastle’s midfield were dominant throughout.
“I think he’s doing well, I had no issues with his performance today,” said Howe (via Newcastle World).
“I think he played well and played his part in a dominant performance today in the heartbeat of the midfield.”
Sandro Tonali needs to bring his international form to Newcastle
Tonali of course isn’t alone in not really shining for Newcastle consistently so far this season but the fact he’s been starring for Italy is somewhat jarring.
That’s not to say he played badly of course but he did not appear to be quite the talismanic figure he has been for his country at times.
Like most of his teammates, Newcastle could do with a big performance from Tonali in their colours.
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