Newcastle United made a bold move when bringing in another goalkeeper in the summer with Martin Dubravka established as number 1 at St James' Park.
You could argue that other areas needed to be improved first and that a new keeper wasn't the priority. But after making the call to change the man between the posts and bringing in Nick Pope for a bargain £10million fee, Howe's judgement has paid off.
Pope was brilliant at Brighton and faced seven shots on target before emerging with a clean sheet. True, Kieran Trippier proved to be the goalie's best friend with a clearance off the line in the first half but overall Pope commanded his area and we saw his sweeper-keeper capabilities at the Amex Stadium.
READ MORE: Gonçalo Ramos gives answer on Newcastle United question when quizzed on future
This wasn't the first tough decision from Howe since the season kicked off and only last week the Toon boss left Sven Botman on the bench. Botman wants to play but was back in the team at the earliest opportunity as Matt Targett missed out with a hamstring injury and Dan Burn was switched to left-back.
Whatever people thought of the decisions from Howe in the first two games of the season they have been justified with two clean sheets and four points from six.
After the game Howe was inevitably asked about Pope's strong performance and said: "He’s a very relaxed figure, very popular in the dressing room and has a real calmness about him. "That save from Lallana was top class.
"You’re only as solid as your defence, I think we’ve changed personnel, added strength and added depth and now we’ve got some very good characters in that unit. And I think you saw that today, because we were under the cosh but we stayed calm and we battled through it."
Howe made it clear when sporting director Dan Ashworth came in that any talk of him taking a step back from recruitment should be dismissed. The reality is Howe knows exactly what the team needs after seeing the squad in training every day.
And that will hold Newcastle in good stead as they look to wrap up the window with a right-sided player and a forward. Even straight after the game United chiefs were getting updates on some of their targets and there's no doubt that additions are on the way.
But Howe wants to ensure they are the right ones - something he's managed to do fantastically so far.
READ NEXT
- Match verdict as Nick Pope justifies big Eddie Howe decision
- Pope shines and Joelinton strong: Newcastle player ratings
- Callum Wilson talks about life at Newcastle's under-construction training ground
- Brendan Rodgers drops fresh hint to Newcastle United on James Maddison
- Newcastle transfers state of play as Howe has already commented on Benfica star
