Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler admitted Danny Welbeck was moments away from being substituted when he struck the late winner in Brighton’s 2-1 Premier League victory over Newcastle at the Amex Stadium.
The visitors were in the ascendancy, having equalised 14 minutes from time via a sublime piece of skill from Nick Woltemade and looked the likelier winners.
But with Hurzeler getting ready to hook the former England forward – whose cool first-half finish had given his side the lead – he was in the right place at the right time to send a loose ball swerving past Nick Pope.
It was the second time this season that Welbeck had scored twice to help the Seagulls down Champions League opposition, after his late smash and grab saw off Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in September.
Asked whether he felt 34-year-old’s race was run as the game entered its final 10 minutes, Hurzeler said: “To be honest, yes.
“It’s important to be honest and that was the case, I was thinking of taking him off. Then he surprised me again.
“Sometimes it’s about timing in life and that was good timing.”
Welbeck’s first goal was a study in composure under pressure.
Georginio Rutter took possession in midfield and seemed to wrong-foot Sandro Tonali and the rest of the Newcastle midfield with a clever, sudden burst down the centre, driving into space and rolling the ball up for his team-mate, who glided into a wide-open hole between the two central defenders to finish with unerring cool.
“Everyone will focus on his two goals,” said Hurzeler. “But when we look at his performance, how many times did he help us defend the goal, how many recovery runs? That’s the main thing.
“If you do the basic things right, you’ll get the rewards. Danny worked hard for the team then in the right moments he was there.
“We all know he has unbelievable quality around the box, has really good execution in front of goal. But it’s about how he is as a leader.”
That finishing prowess was demonstrated once more six minutes from time. After Dan Burn had slid to block Mats Wieffer’s shot, Welbeck stayed calm and swung a languid right boot to curl home Brighton’s winner.
“He’s a top professional,” said Hurzeler. “Before and after training he’s always prepared. He never tries to rest.
“If you have good personality, lead by behaviour and performance, that’s the main thing how to describe him.
“He’s not a selfish personality. He’s always there for his team-mates. On top of that, he’s a great goalscorer.”
Woltemade’s goal – a perfect moment marrying imagination with timing and technique as he stepped across the ball and turned it in with his heel – deserved more.
Boss Eddie Howe, whose team have now won just two of their opening eight league games, reflected on a dearth of players in his squad chipping in with goals.
He said: “We’ve historically been a team that scores a lot of goals. We’ve never relied on one player. It was a good attacking display but we weren’t clinical enough.
“It was an incredible goal. I thought (Woltemade’s) overall game was very strong. But we need goals and creation from the other players.
“Too many of our attacking players aren’t delivering enough.”
