Brighton and Newcastle are both teams for whom winning the FA Cup would mean the world to their fans.
Albion, eighth in the Premier League but only a point behind sixth-placed Newcastle, are clearly the best current team in England to have never won a major trophy.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side are now two wins from reaching their first FA Cup final since 1983, when they famously lost to Manchester United in a replay.
They were not at their best here and could have been more than a goal behind before Gambian Minteh levelled.
But level he did. The 20-year-old flicked the ball to Joao Pedro and then raced on to the Brazilian’s fantastic through-ball before scoring via a deflection from the sliding Kieran Trippier.
Minteh – who had brought down Tino Livramento for Newcastle’s penalty opener – did not celebrate his goal on his first return to St James’ Park, despite never playing a game for Eddie Howe’s side before his departure last summer.
He joined the Magpies in the summer of 2023, but joined Feyenoord on loan on the same day. On returning, Minteh was sold for £30m to Brighton on 1 July.
Brighton had several chances to score – and when Gordon was sent off it looked as if they had the edge. But just before the end of normal time, Lamptey clattered into Murphy and followed the England forward down the tunnel.
When Schar volleyed in from the resulting Bruno Guimaraes’ free-kick, the Seagulls looked to be out.
But semi-automated offside technology showed the Newcastle defender was offside and Brighton had a reprieve – of which they took full advantage.
