RAFAEL BENITEZ admitted Newcastle United paid a high price for their failure to convert their chances in yesterday’s 1-0 defeat to Brighton, but claimed the Seagulls’ winning goal should have been ruled out for a push in the build up to Tomer Hemed’s strike.

The Magpies’ three-game winning run came crashing to an end at the Amex Stadium, with Hemed’s second-half volley settling a closely-fought match of few chances.

Hemed hooked home after Dale Stephens nodded Pascal Gross’ free-kick back across the area, but Benitez was frustrated at referee Andre Marriner’s failure to penalise Brighton full-back Bruno for a push on Chancel Mbemba that created a pocket of space in the box.

Bruno barged Mbemba out of the way as Gross’ free-kick sailed into the area, and while Newcastle should still have defended the situation more effectively, Benitez felt his side should have been awarded a free-kick.

“I am disappointed because the goal is a clear foul,” said the Newcastle manager, whose side have dropped to ninth in the table ahead of Sunday’s meeting with his former club, Liverpool. “We didn’t defend it well, I will admit that, but at the same time, there was a player who was making a clear movement with a clear push.

“It wasn’t a block, it was a foul. That’s it, and the referee had a really good position. I haven’t spoken to the referee about it, but it is very clear, you can see from the replay.

“It is not a player standing still, blocking. It is a player in movement, pushing. It is a very clear foul. Still, though, we did not defend it well. We have to be stronger, I don’t disagree with that. But it is still a clear foul.”

Hemed’s goal proved decisive, with Newcastle spurning a number of decent opportunities, particularly in the first half.

Having missed a number of chances in last weekend’s win over Stoke City, Joselu passed up another inviting opening when he dragged a shot wide from the edge of the six-yard box.

Ayoze Perez also failed to find the target from inside the area before the interval, and while the Magpies enjoyed plenty of possession in the Brighton half in the closing stages, they failed to force goalkeeper Matthew Ryan to make a really telling save.

“We had chances but didn’t take them,” said Benitez. “There was a chance for Joselu, and then in the second half we had three or four good positions where we should have done better.

“We have to learn from this defeat. In the Premier League, you have to take your chances when they come along. You have to take your chances, and you also have to be stronger in defence if you want to make sure you will have a clean sheet.

“We didn’t take our chances, and that is a key factor in the games in the Premier League. The level of the teams is higher, but in these games, when you are playing against a team that is more or less at your level, it is important to take something.”

In many ways, yesterday’s game was similar to Newcastle’s 1-0 defeat to another newly-promoted side, Huddersfield Town, and Benitez admits a number of his team’s matches this season could be decided by a handful of key incidents.

“It could be like this for us,” he said. “We know we have to depend on our team work to have chances to get points. We have to be strong in defence, and we have to play well to have chances on the counter-attack, or move the ball well like we did in the second half.

“There is not a massive difference between a lot of the teams in this league, and these small margins are what we have to use to our benefit in these kinds of games.”

There was a controversial moment in the closing stages of yesterday’s game, with Hemed appearing to stamp on DeAndre Yedlin’s calf. The incident was not picked up by the match officials, but Brighton’s match winner could find himself facing some retrospective punishment from the Football Association.

“I felt something on my calf,” said Yedlin. “I didn’t see anything, I was in the mix of things. I was on the ground. Whether it was accidental or not, it doesn’t really matter now but I’m sure whoever is on the committee that punishes that sort of thing will figure it out. For me, we’ve got to learn from the day and move on.”