Peter Beardsley’s side drop a place to fifth in the Premier League 2’s second tier after a second draw in the space of a week, four of their opening five games having taken place away from home.

Though Stefan O’Connor came close for Newcastle barely five minutes in – denied by Bailey Vose with just the ‘keeper to beat – it was Brighton who enjoyed the better of the opening half.

Max Sanders twice took aim in the following exchanges, seeing a powerful strike deflect wide before curling narrowly off-target from just inside the penalty area.

Sanders then turned provider for Soufyan Ahannach, but the Dutch wide-man failed to test Freddie Woodman from a promising position.

Before the break, however, Woodman was called into action twice in quick succession to keep the Seagulls’ Henrik Bjordal at bay. On both occasions, the Norwegian managed to find a way beyond the Magpies’ backline, but he failed to get the better of Woodman.

The home side continued to look the brighter as the second half got underway, Ahannach’s low-struck effort from range deflecting wide of the post.

Just before the hour-mark, Sanders came within an inch of opening the scoring, seeing a precise effort from the edge of the area clip the crossbar before bouncing out of play.

With 25 minutes to play, only a last-gasp clearance stopped Bjordal – a Norwegian Under-21 international – from breaking the deadlock.

The Magpies, meanwhile, only threatened sporadically after the break. With the clock ticking, Dan Barlaser sent a 25-yard effort wide of Vose’s right-hand post, before O’Connor headed straight at the ‘keeper with his side’s last attempt of note.

Beardsley’s side return to action on Tyneside next Monday evening, with Wolverhampton Wanderers providing the opposition.

Newcastle United Under-23s: Freddie Woodman, Ben Kitchen, Josef Yarney, Macaulay Gillesphey, Kyle Cameron, Stefan O’Connor, Dan Barlaser, Victor Fernandez (Owen Gallacher, 78), Liam Smith (Mo Sangare, 46), Callum Smith (Yasin Ben El-Mhanni, 74), Luke Charman.

Substitutes not used: Paul Woolston, Owen Bailey.