IT TOOK 35 minutes for Brighton to have a touch in Newcastle United’s penalty area – and with it they scored.

If only the Magpies had been so clinical. For just moments before Danny Wellbeck’s opener and winner at St James' Park on Saturday, Alexander Isak had missed a glorious opportunity to give Newcastle the lead their dominant play in the opening half an hour had deserved.

A fully fit and firing Isak would almost certainly have taken that one-on-one chance and would probably have helped himself to a couple more goals against the Seagulls the but the 25-year-old – back in the team after a two-game absence – is some way shy of his best. He wasn’t the only guilty party when it came to spurned opportunities against Brighton, mind. The game finished with Newcastle having had 21 shots on goal but failing to hit the net at St James’ Park for the first time since May, 2023, and losing on home turf for the first time since January.

Worryingly, the stretch without a win is now at four games – and yet the Magpies had looked almost certain victors in the early stages against the Seagulls.

Brighton headed for the North East on the back of their stirring comeback against Tottenham before the international break but in the early stages Albion looked like the team that Spurs dismantled in the first half that day rather than the free-flowing outfit that came back from the dead in the second.

As for Newcastle, in the opening 15 minutes they were as good as they’ve been all season so far, creating a string of early opportunities. Anthony Gordon scampered away down the left and fizzed a cross in that had to be turned away by Bart Verbruggen and Isak’s shot looked set to be beat Verbruggen only for his own man Jacob Murphy to get in the way.

There was a strong penalty shout for a Joel Veltman handball as well. Brighton survived a VAR check but looked unlikely to survive Newcastle’s onslaught for long. At the midway stage of the first half Newcastle had had the game’s four shots on goal and more than two thirds of possession.

And the hosts should have turned that dominance into a lead just after half an hour when Isak missed that glorious opportunity to score. Tonali touched the ball into the path of Bruno, who found Isak with a defence splitting pass but Verbruggen raced off his line, made himself big and saved superbly.

And with that, the game changed, for moments later, with their first attack of the game, Brighton took the lead. It was all so very easy as well. A long free-kick punted forward, Wellbeck allowed the time and space by Fabian Schar to take the ball down, play a one-two with Georginio Rutter and slot home.

Gordon did force a fine save from Verbruggen at full-stretch just before the break but the goal took the sting out of Newcastle’s play. Indeed, it was Brighton who had the first real chance of the second half when an unmarked Dunk volleyed high and wide from a corner.

Gordon helped to stir Newcastle and the fans back into life. First the forward headed just over from an Isak cross and was then punished for a coming together with Dunk when the hosts were certain they should have been the beneficiary of the unpopular Bankes’ decision.

Isak had a couple of half chances and then forced two good saves from Verbruggen before and after Howe turned to his bench, introducing Harvey Barnes and Joe Willock.

But it was a Brighton substitute who almost came up with the game’s second goal. Kaoru Mitoma looked certain to score after Lewis Hall had slipped inside his own box, only for Dan Burn to lunge across and block bravely and brilliantly.

The matchwinner Wellbeck had to be stretchered off late on after an innocuous incident and the Newcastle fans showed their class and applauded the forward as he was carried off the pitch.

The long delay resulted in nine minutes of stoppage time, with Howe rolling the dice for the last time and calling on Will Osula from the bench. There was almost a late twist when Dan Burn had the ball in the net against his former club but the offside flag was raised. Nick Pope went up for a late corner but Newcastle couldn't force a leveller.