Rafa Benitez Disappointed With Tomer Hemed's Goal in Newcastle's Defeat at Brighton

Newcastle's three-game winning streak came to an end, as Rafa Benitez's side lost 1-0 at the Amex on Sunday night. 

In the first Premier League encounter between the sides, Brighton came out on top, having dominated the game throughout. It was Tomer Hemed that bagged the winning goal with a spectacular overhead kick - a disappointed, Rafa Benitez spoke out following the match: 

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"The goal, for me, was a foul, it's a blocking in movement. He's pushing and blocking in movement, and it's so clear, but you cannot change the decision." said Benitez, talking to Sky Sports. In reference to the collision that saw Chancel Mbemba go to ground in the box, which left him unable to stop Stephens knock on to Hemed. 

Newcastle's late flurry in the game saw them look a lot more threatening - but they failed to capitalise as Brighton held firm in defence: "I feel like we did enough to get a point at least," said Benitez, "They had some chances, we had some chances. We had a lot of control and chances at the end. I think we deserved more.

"We tried to have a little more control on the ball (towards the end) and it was fine. We are a team without a lot of experience in the Premier League, we didn't play well with the anxiety at the end and we have to manage these situations a little bit better." 

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With the average age of the lineup just 25 years of age, most are unproven in the Premier League. 

Following a summer of transfer disruption, Benitez commented on how he is making the most of a disappointing window: “I think we are more focused now on football. That is the way when you have the transfer window - it makes it hard to concentrate on the football, we are trying now to do that. The small margin is the key for us, so we can get something from these games.”