Brighton & Hove Albion turned their luck around in the league as they beat Newcastle United 1-0 thanks to Tomer Hemed's second-half goal.

Victory for the Seagulls halts Rafael Benítez's winning run with the Magpies. As for Chris Hughton, this was his first win against his former employers in seven attempts.

The second half was largely dominated by the home side, who were getting a great support from the sell-out crowd at the Amex. The Brighton fans saw a few great chances for their team to take the lead, however, they lacked the final touch in front of goal.

The second half was more of the same, but this time Hughton's men got their deserved goal. Hemed scored the opener which looked like a well-practiced training ground routine, which worked to perfection for the Seagulls.

The three points lift Hughton's side from 17th to 13th place in the table, while the Magpies slip down to 9th.

Seagulls dominate first half proceedings

Brighton dominated the ball in the first half and had their chances to take the lead as well. It was an energetic start from Hughton's men who looked to bounce back from consecutive defeats to AFC Bournemouth.

Hemed's hold-up play was tested quite a bit in the early parts of the game, but he did well.Most of Brighton's attacks were coming down the right with captain Bruno and Anthony Knockaert combining at every opportunity to exploit the away defense.

Pascal Groß gave Brighton a lot of energy and purpose, playing just behind Hemed in an advanced attacking role for the Seagulls, he did well. However, he would soon regret a big chance missed. 

Groß missed the biggest chance of the first-half for Brighton. Knockaert did well to dribble away from Mikel Merino and set up the cross for Solly March, his ball into Groß's path wasn't met by the perfect volley, instead, it deflected off Knockaert and out for a goal kick.

Brighton were passing the ball around well with positivity, with lots of variation to their passing, Hughton would have been pleased with their performance.Newcastle were playing far too compact, they needed to be patient in their build-up play. 

Joselu had Newcastle's biggest chance of the first half, it should've been 1-0, he had all the time in the world to turn and curl it into the corner, but he missed the opportunity. 

Towards the end of the first half, Brighton had dominated most of the first half with their chances. Only problem was they hadn't been able to score so far, Hughton will be pleased with his side so far in the first half.

Hemed's header brings delight for Hughton

Brighton took the lead early in the second half. The goal was scored with a set-piece routine through to Hemed, excellently taken by the Israeli international. Dale Stephens got around at the back post and headed it down into Hemed's way who scored with an untidy finish to make it 1-0.

Moments later, March's excellent shot was saved by Eliot. It was a  brilliant cross initially by Bruno to find the youngster, but a save denied him from scoring Brighton's second of the game.

There was a good intensity in the game after Hemed's goal, Newcastle players had started to fight for their result, Merino tried to force the issue with a long-range attempt that was almost deflected into the back of the net by Shane Duffy.

In an effort to bring a change to the game, Benítez brought Jonjo Shelvey into the game, instead of Isaac Hayden. However, the change did little to affect the final result.

Shelvey had one moment when he hit the post with a brilliantly curved corner. Newcastle were going all out for the win, Joselu was replaced by Dwight Gayle.

Brighton were having to hold out and protect their lead, which was a natural option for Hughton to take in a time when his side were fighting for all three points.

Knockaert was not happy to be substituted for Jamie Murphy, however, Hughton felt the change was necessary and as the manager, he had to make the call.

Deep into stoppage time, Newcastle weren't prepared to give up on the game, Mathew Ryan was being tested late on with a flurry of attempts, Lewis Dunk even put his body on the line to prevent Shelvey from scoring with a long-range attempt.

That's how it finally ended as the Amex applauded their side's brave efforts to beat their former EFL Championship opponent, next for the Seagulls is a trip to the Emirates to face Arsene Wenger's Arsenal, in what could be an interesting game after all.