Brighton v Newcastle player ratings: Ferguson 10, Gilmour 8; Isak 5, Almiron 3

Irish striker scores a hat-trick as Brighton dominate Newcastle 3-1 at Amex Stadium

BRIGHTON PLAYER RATINGS: Bart Verbruggen - 6. Provided a crucial save to stop Almiron’s deflected effort. Displayed his confidence with the ball at his feet by calmly dribbling past Wilson when the striker tried to put him under pressure. His distribution was particularly impressive as he repeatedly picked out passes with ease. Reuters

Joel Veltman - 6. Kept Gordon quiet in the first half and dealt well with the threat of Isak in the second. Reuters

Jan Paul van Hecke - 5. Made a good recovery tackle to stop Isak in the second minute. Stood on his feet and stopped Isak again, on the hour. Got beaten too easily by Wilson in the build-up to the visitor's consolation goal. Getty

Lewis Dunk - 7. Another exemplary performance from the Brighton captain. The tall defender put his body on the line several times and didn’t put a foot wrong in defence. Reuters

Pervis Estupinan - 7. Had Almiron in his pocket for most of the game, though he wasn’t as adventurous as usual. Getty

Pascal Gross - 7. Deployed at the base of midfield alongside Gilmour, the experienced Gross kept things simple and never strayed far from his position. Reuters

Billy Gilmour - 8. Picked out Ferguson with an incisive pass early in the game. Had a huge hand in Brighton's opener as his shot was parried into the path of Ferguson to score. Did well to dispossess Guimaraes and find Ferguson in space to double the home side’s lead. Getty

Solly March - 7. Had Targett chasing shadows for most of the game with his silky play, and combined well with Pedro. PA

Joao Pedro - 6. Failed to keep an effort down when Mitoma found him with a layoff in the 28th minute. Had a very good chance to play Ferguson in with a backheel, but he failed to pull it. Reuters

Kaoru Mitoma - 7. Denied by the foot of Pope just before Brighton's opener. Grabbed the assist for the Seagulls’ third goal after a run infield and a simple layoff to Ferguson. AFP

Evan Ferguson - 10. Opened the scoring with a simple finish. Made it two with a well-taken shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area. Grabbed his first senior hat-trick in the 70th minute after Schar deflected his shot past Pope to make it 3-0. AFP

SUBS: Mahmoud Dahoud (Gilmour, 77) - N/A. A compelling performance from Dahoud after coming on. He was a biting presence in midfield and was aggressive with his tackling. Getty

Tariq Lamptey (Joao Pedro, 77) - N/A. An exciting cameo as his pace caused problems for the Magpies backline. Left Schar on the turf with his pace but failed to find a Brighton shirt with his cut back in the 83rd minute. Getty

Adam Lallana (March, 81) - N/A. Looked confident on the ball and combined well with Lamptey after coming on. PA

James Milner (Ferguson, 81) - N/A. Came on and kept things simple as he helped the home side see out the game. Getty

Simon Adingra (Gross, 89) - N/A. Came on too late to make an impact. Getty

NEWCASTLE PLAYER RATINGS: Nick Pope - 3. Forced into an awkward save when Targett deflected March’s effort in the 10th minute. Then a botched clearance and a poor punch back into the danger area led to the Brighton opener in the 27th minute. AFP

Kieran Trippier - 5. Stood firm against the fleet-footed Mitoma on the right. Stopped Mitoma from making it four by deflecting Lamptey’s cross wide in the last minute of the game. Reuters

Fabian Schar - 4. Unlucky to see Ferguson’s shot deflect off him and into the net to make it three for Brighton. Tried to grab a consolation with a header in the 86th minute, but Verbruggen was equal to his effort. AFP

Dan Burn - 4. Utilised in at centre-back, Burn struggled to deal with the threat of Ferguson and Pedro. Got caught out of position for the first goal. PA

Matt Targett - 4. A tough outing against the tricky March on the left side of defence. Excellent cutback to find Gordon in the 65th minute. AFP

Sandro Tonali - 5. Tried to help conduct things in attack, but he was often left frustrated by Brighton's disciplined backline. Brilliant cutback to find Isak in the third minute, but the striker failed to get his effort on target. Getty

Bruno Guimaraes - 4. A poor outing from the usually reliable Brazilian as Newcastle were second best in the midfield battle. Came out second best in most of his duels. Getty

Joelinton - 4. Should have at least made Verbruggen work when he had a good chance in the 27th minute. Struggled to get going for most of the game and deservedly subbed off early in the second half. Reuters

Miguel Almiron - 3. A below-par outing from the tricky winger. A spectator for most of the first half and subbed off early in the second half. AFP

Anthony Gordon - 4. Frustrating performance from Gordon, who started on the right before switching to the left in the second half. Inexplicably hit an effort wide when he had a chance to reduce the deficit in the 65th minute. PA

Alexander Isak - 5. The most threatening among Newcastle’s attackers, but his finishing left a lot to be desired. Had half a chance to open the scoring in the second minute, but his first touch let him down. Getty

SUBS: Callum Wilson (Joelinton, 58) - 7. Tried to force the Brighton backline into making mistakes by pressing high. His hard work eventually paid off when he beat Van Hecke and finished past Verbruggen to grab a consolation goal. Reuters

Elliot Anderson (Almiron, 58) - 5. Failed to make the desired impact. He was often left chasing shadows as Brighton dominated proceedings. Getty

Sean Longstaff (Tonali, 58) - 6. Grabbed the assist for the visitor's consolation goal with a high ball over Brighton's backline. Reuters

Harvey Barnes (Isak, 74) - N/A. Tried to make an impact after coming on but couldn’t influence the game. Reuters

Jamaal Lascelles (Targett, 74) - N/A. Brought on to help shore up the defence and stop the Magpies from conceding more goals. Reuters

Brighton and Hove Albion's teenage striker Evan Ferguson grabbed a hat-trick to secure a 3-1 win over lacklustre visitors Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday.

Newcastle started with an aggressive press but were quickly picked apart by a Brighton team keen to reassert themselves after a 3-1 loss at home to West Ham United last week.

They took the lead when Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope messed up a clearance and, though he saved a shot from a tight angle by Kaoru Mitoma with his foot, could not hold Billy Gilmour's pile-driver shortly afterwards.

The rebound fell to 18-year-old Ferguson who rifled home from the edge of the six-yard box.

Newcastle's evening was summed up in the 54th minute when Kieran Trippier under-hit a pass a few metres in front of his own goal and the defender breathed a sigh of relief when striker Brighton's Joao Pedro wasted the opportunity.

Their luck was not to last though and Ferguson doubled Brighton's lead in the 65th when he was left unmarked and advanced before curling home an exquisite shot from distance.

The visitors still did not learn their lesson and Ferguson completed his hat-trick with a strike that deflected off Magpies defender Fabian Schar five minutes later.

Newcastle managed only one shot on target before Callum Wilson netted their consolation goal two minutes into second-half stoppage time and they could have conceded a fourth but Mitoma missed the ball with the goal at his mercy.

The win moves Brighton up to fourth on nine points from four games, three off Premier League leaders Manchester City and one behind Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham, while Newcastle's third straight defeat leaves them in 14th spot on three points.

Check out the photo gallery above for the player ratings from the Amex Stadium. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or swipe if using a mobile device.