Danny Welbeck scored in extra-time to send Brighton into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup over Newcastle, with the veteran striker delighting in the Magpies’ misery
Danny Welbeck claimed he is a ‘Mackem at heart’ as he celebrated his winner against Newcastle in the FA Cup fifth round.
Welbeck scored six minutes before the end of extra-time to send Brighton into the quarter-finals. The game had been heading for penalties when Welbeck struck, with Newcastle having taken the lead through Alexander Isak’s first-half spot-kick.
Yankuba Minteh equalised on the stroke of half-time before Welbeck came off the bench to score the winner. It means that Newcastle’s wait to win a seventh FA Cup will extend past the 70-year mark.
Welbeck delighted in the Magpies’ misery at the final whistle, even aiming a jibe at the Newcastle faithful. In a video posted by Brighton, the striker pledged his allegiance to former club Sunderland, otherwise known as ‘Mackems’.
As he made his way down the tunnel, Welbeck smiled at the camera. He then said: “Someone giving me stick there. Doesn’t know I’m a Mackem at heart.”
Welbeck made 28 appearances on loan with the Black Cats during a loan spell from Manchester United in 2010-11, scoring six times.
He admitted to enjoying his trips to Tyneside though following a game that saw both sides have a man sent off and Newcastle see a 93rd-minute winner ruled out for offside.
“It is nice to come here to St James’ Park, such a special atmosphere. The fans made it an amazing atmosphere – great to get the winner, again. I feel like we played well,” he told Match of the Day.
“We know when we come up against Newcastle that it’s going to be an intense game. They have some dangerous players with some great ability, and we have to match that, and we did that today and come out on top.
“When you’re on the bench you have to analyse the game and see where you can make a difference and today that’s what we did. You see Joao Pedro at the end struggling to run. He gave so much and I believe that’s what gave us the winner.”
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler hailed his side for pushing through to the end. He told Match of the Day: “It was a very emotional game. Lots of ups and downs. The key was we stayed together, we stayed calm, we tried to find solutions.
“They had a big chance hitting the post, but then I thought we were controlling the game. The penalty was out of nowhere. We played with a lot of courage, we had some small chances and then after we conceded we showed a brilliant reaction.
“We can only win something if we stay together and that’s what we must focus on. It is important to stay grounded and keep doing the basic things. They [fans] can dream, and we can work.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Learn more
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £192 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
