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Opinion

Newcastle 0 Brighton 1 – Can these statistics lie?

5 years ago
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Final score was Newcastle 0 Brighton 1.
Five games played at home this season and five defeats.
In four games against clubs outside the ‘big six’, Newcastle have managed no goals in over six hours of football.
Those statistics can’t be argued with but how about the stats solely from today’s game?
Well, they show Newcastle with 68% possession, 27 shots (8 for Brighton) and 10 corners to the 2 the visitors had.
Looking at those basic stats you would assume Newcastle should have won comfortably, which isn’t the case…
Brighton certainly didn’t deserve to win but as for Newcastle, it was almost entirely huff and puff with no cutting edge.
A lot of corners but can’t recall any near misses, Brighton have a decent defence and looked comfortable on set-pieces.
In open play the visitors let Newcastle get to 30 yards or so and then asked the home side to try and break them down, which they pretty much failed to do.
Of 27 shots only six were on target and much of that was because the majority of attempts were from distance.
Ayoze Perez totally summed up the lack of goals in our team when in the opening stages Shelvey won the ball on the edge of the box and left the Spaniard with just the keeper to beat, his embarrassing effort was straight at Ryan in the Brighton goal.
I can only remember (man of the match) Jonjo Shelvey having any other chances.
A mazy dribble and less than confident shot brought a block from the keeper and Muto put a reflex header over.
Whilst a save from Shelvey’s free-kick looked very decent, until the replay on the big screen showed it was right in the middle of the goal.
Newcastle didn’t deserve to lose but they didn’t deserve to win either, the stats very misleading.
As one of four or five clubs Newcastle had to beat at home if relegation is to be avoided, this was more than disappointing.
On the subject of stats, my final word is the attendance.
Newcastle announced the crowd as 50,329. Never in a million years was there fifty thousand there today inside St James Park.

Stats from BBC Sport:
Newcastle 0 Brighton 1
Goals:
Brighton: Kayal 29
Possession was Brighton 32% Newcastle 68%
Total shots were  Brighton 8 Newcastle 27
Shots on target were Brighton 2 Newcastle 6
Corners were  Brighton 2 Newcastle 10
Referee: Andre Marriner
Newcastle United:
Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Fernandez, Dummett, Ritchie, Diame, Shelvey, Kenedy, Perez, Muto (Joselu 74)
Unused Subs:
Darlow, Atsu, Murphy, Schar, Hayden, Manquillo
Crowd: 50,329 (Brighton approx 1,300)
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