Newcastle United 3-2 West Ham United
Premier League
Ten-man West Ham United came from 2-0 down, but ultimately fell to defeat in a see-saw Premier League clash at Newcastle United on Saturday.
The Hammers’ hopes of a third straight win were dealt a telling blow in one 15 second spell in the opening period, when Craig Dawson tripped Joelinton, referee Kevin Friend played the advantage, and Allan Saint-Maximin went on to force an own goal from Issa Diop before Dawson was shown his second yellow.
Then just five minutes later Joelinton took advantage of a Łukasz Fabiański error to make it 2-0.
That looked to be that, but West Ham came fighting back in style after the break, and scored twice in quick succession themselves to drag themselves level, Issa Diop nodding home before Jesse Lingard converted from the spot.
But there was still time for one final twist, as Newcastle forward Joe Willock was called from the bench and made an immediate impact by heading the winner with seven minutes to play.
David Moyes was forced into two changes from the side which defeated Leicester City the previous weekend, with Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku missing out.
His team started the game with plenty of possession, but were finding it difficult to create the space in behind to hurt their hosts.
Newcastle were feeding all their early attacking efforts through Saint-Maximin, whose direct running style meant the visitors had to be very watchful of his threat.
After Dawson was booked for the first time for stopping a Joelinton break 12 minutes in, Saint-Maximin had his team’s first real chance seven minutes later, when his low, well-struck drive needed a save from Fabiański.
In truth, clear openings were few and far between in the game’s first 30 minutes, with Jarrod Bowen’s effort from outside the box, which deflected off Federico Fernández’s hip and to safety representing their best chance before the break.
The game turned in the home team’s favour in a disastrous phase of play nine minutes before the break.
Dawson’s loose touch in midfield had him stretching for the ball as Joelinton closed in. The Brazilian was caught by the Hammers defender, but Saint-Maximin took over to resume the attack. He advanced into the box and shot past Fabiański. Diop tried in vain to get back, only managing to nudge the ball over the line in his attempts to clear.
That wasn’t all, referee Kevin Friend went back to the offence earlier in the move to hand Dawson his second yellow card and all of a sudden his team were both a goal and a man down.
Five minutes later it got even worse. A Jonjo Shelvey corner from the right looked to be heading straight into Fabiański’s grasp, but the ball squirmed clear and Joelinton was presented with the simple task of tapping home.
The Hammers needed the half-time interval to reorganise, and to their great credit they came out for the second half with purpose, continued to dominate possession and now began to create openings.
After Vladimír Coufal was denied by Martin Dúbravka by his near post, David Moyes’ men gave themselves hope 17 minutes from the end when Bowen crossed from the right-hand side, and Diop, still up from the initially-cleared corner, was left unmarked to nod home.
Then, eight minutes later, the referee was called across to his VAR screen to judge a handball call against Ciaran Clark, with the result that the visitors were awarded a penalty.
Lingard stepped up after a long delay for Clark to receive treatment to dispatch a nerveless penalty in off the inside of the left hand post.
But just as the Hammers thought their efforts would gain reward, Newcastle’s Willock stepped off the bench to send a powerful header beyond Fabiański and send them home pointless.
Newcastle United: Dúbravka, Fernández, Clark, Dummett, Murphy, Shelvey, S. Longstaff (Willock 81), Ritchie, Saint-Maximin (Wilson 64), Almirón, Joelinton (Carroll 90+7)
Subs: Gillespie (GK), Gayle, Lewis, Hendrick, Krafth, Manquillo
Goals: Diop og 36, Joelinton 41, Willock 83
Booked: Shelvey
West Ham United: Fabiański, Diop, Dawson, Ogbonna, Coufal, Noble (Benrahma 75), Souček, Johnson (Fredericks 90+5), Fornals, Lingard (Lanzini 87), Bowen
Subs: Trott (GK), Martin (GK), Alves, Balbuena, Coventry, Yarmolenko
Goals: Diop 73, Lingard pen 80
Booked: Dawson
Sent-off: Dawson
Referee: Kevin Friend
