The Danny Welbeck comment that Sunderland fans will love after dumping Newcastle United out of FA Cup

Former Sunderland loanee Danny Welbeck has admitted that he is a “Mackem at heart” after his extra time goal for Brighton and Hove Albion helped dumped Newcastle United out of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.

The Seagulls came from behind at St. James’ Park to force the cup tie into an additional 30 minutes, before the experienced striker popped up in the closing stages to deftly net a winner in a 2-1 victory.

Newcastle’s miserable afternoon was compounded further by the sending off of star winger Anthony Gordon, who will now miss this month’s Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, and the absence of impressive full-back Lewis Hall, who is also a doubt for the trip to Wembley after succumbing to an ankle injury.

But while the Magpies face a nervous wait over the coming days and weeks, Welbeck and his teammates wasted little time in revelling in a hard-fought triumph on Tyneside which sets up a quarter-final clash against either Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town, depending on who comes out on top in Monday evening’s final round of 16 tie.

In the aftermath of their win against Newcastle, Brighton posted a video to social media of their squad jubilantly making their way back down the tunnel at St. James’ Park following the final whistle. Towards the end of the clip, match-winner Welbeck is shown smiling at the camera, before stating: "Someone giving me stick there. Doesn't know I'm a Mackem at heart.”

The 34-year-old was referring to a loan stint he enjoyed with Sunderland earlier in his career. Welbeck scored six goals in 26 Premier League outings for the Black Cats during the 2010/11 campaign having sealed a temporary switch from parent club Manchester United.

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Speaking to Match of the Day after the game, Welbeck said: "It is nice to come here to St James' Park, such a special atmosphere. The fans made it an amazing atmosphere - great to get the winner, again. I feel like we played well. "We know when we come up against Newcastle that it's going to be an intense game. They have some dangerous players with some great ability, and we have to match that, and we did that today and come out on top.

"When you're on the bench you have to analyse the game and see where you can make a difference and today that's what we did. You see Joao Pedro at the end struggling to run. He gave so much and I believe that's what gave us the winner."

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