Newcastle United dressing room footage reveals classy Brighton gesture and Danny Welbeck’s Sunderland claim
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Newcastle United were knocked out of the FA Cup in a chaotic match at St James’ Park which saw Brighton celebrations continue long after the final whistle.
Not for the first time in recent memory, Newcastle United’s FA Cup journey came to an end at the hands of Brighton. However, unlike those back-to-back exits in 2012 and 2013, the teams entered this game in the same division, with very little between them in the Premier League table.
However, it was a similar tale on Sunday as Danny Welbeck’s extra-time strike ensured it would be the visitors that would progress, with Newcastle United dumped out of the cup a round earlier than last season. Fabian Hurzeler’s side booked themselves a quarter-final clash against either Nottingham Forest or Ipswich Town at the Amex Stadium with that win - one that ushered in huge celebrations from players and staff alike at St James’ Park and one would assume long into the night back in Suffolk for those watching on at home.
Brighton’s social media accounts caught some of those celebrations on Tyneside, including a very classy gesture from one of their key men and a comment from the match winner that has gone down very well at the Stadium of Light.
Danny Welbeck’s fan confrontation and Sunderland admission
For the second time this season, Welbeck was the Brighton hero at St James’ Park. His strike in October earned the Seagulls three Premier League points, whilst his chip over Martin Dubravka on Sunday was a much more climactic ending.
Pouncing on some good work by Solly March and a lapse in concentration from Tino Livramento, Welbeck secured Brighton’s passage into the quarter-finals before standing on an advertising board to celebrate in-front of the few hardy Seagulls fans who made the trip to the north east. Anthony Taylor’s final whistle ushered in another huge wave of celebrations from the visiting players and staff, with Welbeck the centre of attention for TV companies for immediate reaction.
Eventually, he and his team made their way down the tunnel, but not before an irate Newcastle United fan made his way into the press box to shout his feelings at Welbeck from the top of the players’ tunnel. The fan in question referenced Welbeck’s brief stint at Sunderland, one that saw him make 28 appearances for the Black Cats during the 2010/11 campaign.
Welbeck, still jubilant from scoring the winner, then proceeded down the tunnel before remarking on camera: “Someone gave me stick there, doesn’t know I’m a Mackem at heart.” That video was posted on Brighton’s social media accounts and has gained great traction from Wearside.
Bart Verbruggen’s classy move
As Brighton players and staff celebrated a hard-earned win, those involved in the win were video embracing and dancing in the away dressing room at St James’ Park. As the Brighton celebrations became more and more jubilant, some of the ceiling slats in the dressing room became dislodged.
Spotting this, Verbruggen quickly stops his celebrations mid-flow in order to put them back in their place. Whether this was to stop them falling on one of his teammates, or a classy and respectful gesture from the Belgian, only he will know. We hope it is the latter.