Bad FA Cup draw for fans – but Brighton have chance at Newcastle

The FA Cup draw could have been kinder for Albion supporters. But Brighton will fancy their chances of progressing to the quarter finals of the world’s greatest cup competition after being handed a trip to Newcastle United in the fifth round of the competition.

Such an opening paragraph may comes as a surprise to you. On the face of it, an away tie against the Saudi Sportswashers looks tough on paper.

Not many visitors beheading home from St James’ Park with victory these days from a Newcastle side well in the fight for a top four finish and already finalists in the League Cup.

But those battles on two other fronts combined with the Albion’s impressive FA Cup record against Newcastle mean Brighton can eliminate the Toon Army from the competition.

Before we even get to any of that though, remember what happened when the Seagulls visited St James’ earlier in the season?

The October Defensive masterclass which tamed the Toon

Albion fans who spit feathers whenever an opponent comes to the Amex and park the bus were strangely silent in criticising such tactics when Fabian Hurzeler went to Tyneside and, er, parked the bus.

The end result was a magnificent 1-0 win for Brighton. And thousands of Toon fans saying how they couldn’t watch that sort of football every week.

Forget the complaints of the locals. Hurzeler already has a blueprint for delivering victory away from home at Newcastle. The same outcome again will leave the Albion just one win away from a third FA Cup semi final appearance at Wembley in seven seasons.

And one of these days, Brighton have to finally get over the line by winning at the national stadium for the first time ever. Right?

Newcastle face big run of games around Brighton FA Cup tie

Back to which baskets Newcastle might place their eggs in. The visit of Brighton comes slap bang in the middle of a potentially season-defining run of fixtures for the Toon.

The fifth round takes place over the weekend of March 1st. Sunday 23rd February sees Newcastle host Nottingham Forest in a huge match in the battle for a Champions League spot. Three days later and Eddie Howe and his players beheading to Liverpool.

Third place Forest. League leaders Liverpool. Brighton in the FA Cup. All in the space of seven days. Howe cannot surely rest players against either the Tricky Trees or Reds. Meaning the visit of the Albion may well be a match he chooses to rotate.

A further complication for Newcastle taking the FA Cup seriously comes with the League Cup final taking place two weeks after Brighton visit St James’.

Howe and his players have a chance of becoming the first Toon side to win a major piece of silverware since 1955. With history waiting to be made in the League Cup, the FA Cup potentially slips further down the order of priority.

With such a packed fixture schedule, fans are in for a thrilling ride, and keeping up with every match is easier than ever with the Mostbet app.

Whether you’re tracking live scores, analyzing stats, or placing bets on Newcastle’s performances, the Mostbet app ensures you stay connected to the action, no matter where you are.

FA Cup has big meaning for Hurzeler

Brighton in contrast can afford to throw everything they have at the FA Cup. Southampton away and Plucky Little Bournemouth at the Amex precede the Newcastle game. A home fixture with Fulham comes after.

Hurzeler has left nobody in any doubt about how seriously he is taking the FA Cup this season. Both in words and actions.

The Youngest Permanent Manager in Premier League History talked before both previous rounds of the competition about how it has “big meaning for the club“. Big meaning because Brighton have never won a major trophy in their 124 year existence.

Hurzeler has backed up his comments by naming full strength XIs against Norwich City and Chelsea to get this far.

A first choice Brighton side in no doubt that their manager wants to win the FA Cup will be well placed to take advantage of a rotated, weakened Newcastle if that is the route Howe decides to go down.

Impressive Brighton record against Newcastle in the FA Cup

History also provides reasons for Brighton to be confident about facing Newcastle in the FA Cup. The clubs have been paired together five times in the past. And it was the Albion doing the eliminating on four of those occasions.

Gus Poyet He Who Must Not Be Named led Championship Brighton to victories over Premier League Newcastle in back-to-back seasons at the beginning of the Amex Era. The Albion also ran out 2-0 winners at St James’ Park on a memorable run to the quarter finals in the 1985-86 campaign.

The most famous FA Cup meeting between Brighton and the Toon came three years earlier. A 1-1 draw at the Goldstone Ground was followed by the Albion winning 1-0 on Tyneside in a midweek replay, kick starting their journey all the way to Wembley and the 1983 final.

For Newcastle’s sole FA Cup success over Brighton, you have to go back to the 1929-30 season. The Albion were in the fifth round for the first time and and six train loads carrying 3,000 optimistic supporters left Brighton Station at midnight, bound for the north east.

Unfortunately, that optimism proved misplaced. Hughie Gallagher scored a hat-trick for the hosts, giving them a comfortable 3-0 win in front of a St James’ crowd of 56,469.

It would be 87 years until the Albion played in front of a bigger attendance for a game not held at Wembley, when 59,378 saw Arsenal beat Chris Hughton’s Seagulls 2-0 at the Emirates in October 2017.

Not such a great draw for Brighton fans

Whilst the prospects of a Brighton win at Newcastle in the FA Cup are better than it might first appear, it is not a great draw for Albion supporters.

A 696 mile round trip. Three weeks notice. Cheap trains will be impossible to come by and finding reasonably priced accommodation a challenge.

There should still be room to try and get on the guestlist for Popworld though for those Brighton fans making a weekend of it. Swings, roundabouts and all that.

And the likelihood is the complications involved with getting to Newcastle will be doubled, trebled, quadrupled once TV sticks its a nose in.

Prepare yourselves for an 8.30am kick off on Sunday morning so that the game can be shown live on ITV6…