Newcastle United ended their four-game Premier League losing streak with a convincing 3-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at St James' Park, with the club's hierarchy in attendance to witness the performance.
Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and co-owner Jamie Reuben were present following their meeting with manager Eddie Howe at Matfen Hall on Thursday. The Magpies raced into a 2-0 lead by half-time, easing the pressure on Howe after a difficult run.
Will Osula opened the scoring with his third goal in four league appearances, heading into an empty net after Jacob Murphy's cross. Dan Burn soon doubled the advantage with a header from Bruno Guimaraes' corner against his former club.
Brighton pulled one back just after the hour mark when Jack Hinshelwood found the top corner, but Harvey Barnes wrapped up the points deep into added time with a clinical finish.
The defeat ended Brighton's five-game unbeaten run, dropping them to seventh in the standings. Newcastle made one change from their loss to Arsenal, with Joelinton starting, while Danny Welbeck was Brighton's sole change after their win over Chelsea.
The Seagulls started brightly, with Hinshelwood denied by a diving Nick Pope and Carlos Baleba's long-range effort clipping the crossbar. Newcastle's first attempt saw Osula fire narrowly wide, but he soon capitalised on a defensive error.
Bruno Guimaraes picked out Murphy on the right, and the winger remained on his feet to evade goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, who rushed out of the box, before crossing for Osula to head into an empty net after 12 minutes.
Brighton were forced into an early change when Joel Veltman replaced Mats Wieffer, and they tested Pope with promising deliveries before Newcastle struck again. Burn's flicked header from Guimaraes' corner landed in the far side of the net in the 24th minute.
Brighton almost replied immediately when Pope's clearance smashed into Hinshelwood and hit the post. Verbruggen palmed away Joe Willock's effort, and Newcastle continued to threaten, with Malick Thiaw denied by the goalkeeper before Sven Botman fired over.
Welbeck headed over from Olivier Boscagli's cross as Brighton sought a response before the break. Early in the second half, a menacing Guimaraes cross was deflected into Verbruggen's path by Jan Paul van Hecke.
Brighton had opportunities as Kaoru Mitoma was penalised for handball after forcing a low save from Pope, and Hinshelwood headed over. The Seagulls pulled one back in the 61st minute after a quick exchange of passes, with Welbeck threading the ball to Hinshelwood to smash into the top corner.
Pascal Gross's teasing cross then whizzed through the six-yard box, just past Van Hecke. A cagey battle ensued, with Pope making a great stop from Charalampos Kostoulas' overhead kick in the 86th minute.
Former Newcastle winger Yankuba Minteh blasted over, and at the other end, Yoane Wissa fired well over. Joelinton rolled an effort wide before Barnes fired high into the roof of the goal in the fifth minute of added time to seal a much-needed win for the Magpies.
