OUT of one cup competition, and with their hopes of winning the other one severely dented, this was not a good day for Newcastle United.

The Magpies’ hopes of lifting the FA Cup are over after Danny Welbeck’s extra-time strike saw Brighton book a place in the quarter-finals. Leading through Alexander Isak’s first-half penalty, Eddie Howe’s side were pegged back when Yankuba Minteh levelled on the stroke of half-time and sunk when Welbeck latched onto Solly March’s through ball in the 114th minute.

And to make matters worse, their hopes of lifting the Carabao Cup at Wembley in less than a fortnight’s time also suffered a major blow as Anthony Gordon received a straight red card that rules him out of the final against Liverpool. In an incident that had echoes of Nick Pope’s pre-Wembley dismissal two years ago, Gordon was sent off for pushing Jan Paul van Hecke in the face. A soft red card? Probably.  A senseless one? Undoubtedly.

While Gordon’s dismissal was quickly followed by another red card for Brighton defender Tariq Lamptey, Newcastle were unable to wrest back control of a game that was slipping away from them long before it became ten-against-ten. With the draw having opened up, Brighton will fancy their chances of winning the cup. Newcastle have to lick their wounds and ensure their season does not unravel completely in the next couple of weeks.

At least they have Isak back in the fold, with the Swede having confirmed his importance before being replaced just before full-time in normal time. He passed up a decent opportunity in the third minute, hooking a close-range shot over, but was not going to let an even better chance go begging when the Magpies were awarded a penalty midway through the first half.

Minteh was the Brighton player at fault, clipping Tino Livramento as the full-back turned in the box. Isak stepped up and confidently slammed his penalty to the left of Bart Verbruggen.

To have any chance of beating Liverpool at Wembley in just under a fortnight’s time, the Magpies desperately need Isak to stay fit. They will also need to have a reliable player in goal, and to that end, Howe’s decision to restore Martin Dubravka to the starting line-up in place of Pope felt telling.

Dubravka had precious little to do for the vast majority of the first half, but he was beaten as the Seagulls levelled a minute before the break.

Joao Pedro sent Minteh breaking into the right-hand side of the area, and after running beyond a flat-footed Gordon, the Gambian atoned for his earlier error when he slotted home a low finish via a deflection off the foot of a sliding Kieran Trippier.

Dubravka was left with no chance as the ball skewed past him, but he came to his side’s rescue ten minutes into the second half as he saved from Pedro.

Eddie Howe made a triple substitution immediately after, bringing on Bruno Guimaraes, Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock, but the latter passed up a glorious opportunity as he failed to make any contact with the ball when Livramento’s cross presented him with a heading opportunity four yards out.

The game was in the balance, but it appeared to have tilted in Brighton’s favour when Gordon was dismissed with seven minutes remaining. The winger raised his hands and pushed van Hecke in the face, and referee Anthony Taylor immediately reached for a straight red card.

Brighton had a man advantage, but it did not last for long. Lamptey had already been booked when he mistimed a challenge on Murphy in the second minute of stoppage time, and he was dismissed for a second yellow card.

Fabian Schar stabbed the resultant free-kick into the net, only for a lengthy VAR check to adjudge that he had strayed offside, and while the game looked to be heading to penalties, Brighton claimed their winner with six minutes left. Livramento played Welbeck onside as March threaded a ball into the box, and the substitute chipped a deft finish past Dubravka.