Sometimes straightforward virtues are the best. In a Premier League that at times seems to have all but given up anything resembling traditional defending, there was something almost comforting about a clash between two sides who play in such a familiar, unpretentious way. This was a reminder of simpler virtues, a world in which the greatest aspiration is to be compact, and produced a sort of mutually assured self-neutralisation, a game in which flair was all but absent and, where it did exist, confined to a tiny sliver on the flanks. That the one goal came from a set piece was entirely appropriate.
The free-kick that produced the goal five minutes into the second half was in part a result of the Brighton left-back Markus Suttner pushing forward and linking with Tomer Hemed on the left, which always looked the most likely source of a breakthrough for Brighton. There seemed a fairly clear plan from the start to isolate DeAndre Yedlin, the Newcastle right-back, against Solly March. It was the 23-year-old’s cross, after Newcastle had been opened up by a burst from Anthony Knockaert, that led to the Pascal Gross shot that cannoned to safety off Knockaert and then his cross-shot, cutting inside, that drew an awkward sprawling save from Rob Elliot.
Related: Tomer Hemed’s strike sinks Newcastle as Brighton seal much-needed win
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