Newcastle United defender slammed for ‘unacceptable’ thing he did in FA Cup defeat v Brighton

Both sides ended 90 minutes with ten men apiece following red cards to Anthony Gordon and Tariq Lamptey. The pair were dismissed within a few minutes of each other in the final knockings of normal time as a game which had ebbed and flowed to that point ended in dramatic fashion.

The hosts thought they had stolen the win through Fabian Schar moments after Lamptey’s dismissal, only for a VAR check and the semi automated offside technology to intervene and chalk off the goal. That laid the stage for Welbeck, who scored Brighton’s winner in their league meeting back in October, to repeat the feat with a delightful chip over Martin Dubravka to seal their progress into the quarter-final.

It was a lovely flowing move from the Seagulls with Welbeck, who had come on as a substitute, benefitting from good work from fellow benchman Solly March before finishing past the Slovakian. However, it will be a goal that the Magpies may reflect on as being very avoidable, with replays showing that Welbeck was played onside by Tino Livramento who had fallen behind the defensive line.

Livramento had started Sunday’s game and was feeling a bit of cramp in his leg before that goal, as his small lapse in concentration was punished ruthlessly by the visitors. Ian Wright, who was working as a pundit for ITV for the match, however, described Livramento’s failure to maintain his position as ‘unacceptable’.

Wright said post-match: “I thought Welbeck had run away from it too far because when you look how far he’s actually stretching you can see he’s had to really dig that out. But look at Livramento, this is where the concentration comes in because look how far behind Matt Targett he is.

“This is what it comes down to. It’s not just about not giving the ball away but especially for defenders – he didn’t even try to step up.

“I can understand tiredness, but that is unacceptable at this level because you’re talking about getting through to the next round and he’s got to step up. Matt Target was in a position where Danny would have had to bend his run more [but Livramento wasn’t].”

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