I was sent off twice at St James' Park - I feel for Anthony Gordon after Newcastle United ban v Liverpool

Gordon was shown a straight red card for a push into the back of Jan Paul van Hecke’s head. Newcastle went on to lose the match 2-1 and Gordon will miss the next three matches, including the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, as a result.

Both teams ended the match with 10 men as Brighton’s Tariq Lampety was sent off following a second yellow card minutes after Gordon’s dismissal. Newcastle led 1-0 in the first half through Alexander Isak’s penalty before Yankuba Minteh drew Brighton level against his former club.

Newcastle thought they’d won the match in stoppage time but Fabian Schar’s strike was ruled out by the new semi-automated offside technology as extra-time followed. Substitute Danny Welbeck scored in the second half of extra-time to put Brighton through the FA Cup quarter-final.

While Newcastle’s FA Cup dreams are over, their Carabao Cup final hopes remain alive but dented by Gordon’s dismissal.

Reflecting on the incident, Roy Keane, who is no stranger to a St James’ Park red card, said on ITV: “There was an incident about maybe one or two minutes before that, it’s obviously frustrating, it’s a moment of madness [from Gordon] – I do feel for him, listen I’ve done daft stuff on a football pitch.

“He’s got to take his medicine now, he’s going to be punished with the suspension, he’s obviously an intelligent lad, he just – yeah it is frustration we see it. I’m not going to be too harsh on him, it’s daft, he’ll have to take his medicine.”

Keane was sent off twice against Newcastle for Manchester United at St James’ Park during his career. His first sending off against Newcastle was for two bookable offences, two seasons later he was sent off again at St James’ Park for throwing the ball at Alan Shearer and lashing out at the striker shortly after a Wes Brown own goal made it 4-3 to The Magpies.

“Yeah I did [lose it],” Keane said on Stick to Football podcast reflecting on the red card. “More with the team as well. We conceded a goal before the end and Wes was poor for the goal and I was more angry at Wes!”

Eddie Howe and his squad will now have to regroup and reassess their approach to the final with West Ham United up next in the Premier League on March 10 (8pm kick-off) before the Wembley meeting with Liverpool on March 16 (4:30pm kick-off). Harvey Barnes, Joelinton and Joe Willock are all potential left-wing options for Howe in Gordon’s absence while top scorer Isak can also play in that role if needed.

Gordon missed Newcastle’s 2-0 Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester United in 2023 due to being cup-tied from his time at Everton.

Discussing what Newcastle must now do, Keane added: “The test for this group is how they recover from it. Since they got there when they beat Arsenal three weeks ago their form has not been great. Gordon gets sent off, maybe one or two injuries, this is a test for this group now.”

Roy Keane critical of Newcastle United substitutes - praises Danny Welbeck

Brighton’s substitutes Solly March and Welbeck ultimately combined to score the winning goal while Newcastle’s five changes were unable to turn their game in their favour. Joe Willock came on and headed wide The Magpies’ best chance of the second half while Callum Wilson and Bruno Guimaraes also had opportunities after coming off the bench.

Matt Targett and Jacob Murphy also came on for Newcastle.

“This is the importance of the squad,” Keane continued. “We mention about subs coming off the bench. Your subs have got to come on and have an impact. We saw Danny’s enthusiasm, he’s a player who’s won the trophy, he’s 34 now?

“He came on and made a difference. You see other subs sometimes, for Newcastle, they come on and it seems like a chore to them. But Danny’s professionalism shone through there.”

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