BRIGHTON (Reuters) – A hat-trick from teenage striker Evan Ferguson handed Brighton & Hove Albion a dominant 3-1 win over a lacklustre Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday.
Brighton took the lead when Newcastle keeper Nick Pope messed up a clearance, and though he saved a shot from a tight angle from Kaoru Mitoma, he could not hold Billy Gilmour’s pile-driver shortly afterwards and the rebound fell to the 18-year-old Ferguson, who rifled it home.
Ferguson doubled Brighton’s lead in the 65th minute when he was left unmarked to curl home an exquisite shot from some distance, and the Irishman completed his hat-trick with a strike that deflected off Magpies defender Fabian Schar five minutes later.
Substitute Callum Wilson added a stoppage-time goal for the visitors but Brighton held on to move to fourth in the table on nine points from four games, three behind leaders Manchester City, while Newcastle are in 14th spot on three points.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
