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Season 2023-24
West Ham United (h) Premier League

 


Date:
Saturday 30th March 2024, 12.30pm
Live on TNT Sports

Venue:
St. James' Park

Conditions:
Resurrected
 



Newcastle

West Ham

 

4 - 3


 

Teams

Goals

6 mins Anthony Gordon exchanged passes with Fabian Schar on the left side of the opposition box, retrieving possession when the ball ran loose only to be needlessly clobbered as he stepped away from goal by Vladimir Coufal.

Referee Robert Jones pointed to the spot and after a lengthy delay during which VAR assessed whether Gordon had been offside in the required phase of play (apparently), Alexander Isak stepped up to coolly dispatch his spot kick into the Leazes End goal. 1-0

21 mins The visitors quickly took advantage of Newcastle's defensive reshuffle, Lucas Paqueta's through ball setting Michail Antonio clear in the opposition half. With Emil Krafth making a fruitless attempt to keep up, the striker strode forward before emphatically beating Martin Dubravka. 1-1

45+10 mins
: Schar was penalised for a foul outside his own box on Mohammed Kudus and went down holding his face in what looked like an exaggerated manner. With Schar still prone, referee Jones allowed play to restart with Paqueta's quickly-taken free kick. That evaded Livramento and dropped into the path of Jarrod Bowen on the right side of the home area.

He pulled the ball back to Kudus who converted with a rising right-footed effort from just outside the six yard box that Dubravka got a hand to but couldn't keep out. The goalscorer then attempted to unseat a ball boy sat behind the goal for his celebration routine, but the youngster was having none of it - quality. 1-2

Half time: Newcastle 1 West Ham 2


48 mins Newcastle's desire to quickly wipe out the interval deficit cost them as they conceded to a lightning counter-attack following a home corner. Kudus led the charge out of his own penalty area and down the left touchline, leaving Schar for dead before heading over halfway and wrong-footing last defender Livramento. 

The Ghanaian looked up to gauge his options and almost ran the ball over the touchline, but struck a sneaky low looping pass in the nick of time that Bowen ran on to in the centre of the field. He took
the ball in his stride before netting from the edge of the area with a low right-footed shot into the bottom left hand corner of the goal. Gordon ran the length of the field to try and impede him. 1-3

77 mins Harvey Barnes and Bruno Guimaraes both had shots blocked as the Hammers struggled to clear their lines before the ball fell to Kalvin Phillips, roughly level with the penalty spot. 

The visiting substitute looked set to deal with the danger but instead of connecting with the ball, swung his right foot and hoofed Gordon's leg -the Newcastle man having appeared from behind him and made a crucial and timely intervention.

Play continued with a trio of goalbound efforts by home players blocked in quick succession before Jones halted proceedings. Belatedly invited to check the pitchside monitor amid expectant cheers, the inevitable spot kick award followed and was converted by Alexander Isak in similar fashion to the first - low and right-footed to bottom left of the goal (goalkeeper's right).
2-3

83 mins Schar strode forward from the right back position and found Isak in the centre circle, with three opponents around him but none near enough to intervene. The Newcastle striker turned and threaded a forward pass through to Harvey Barnes, who had timed his forward run impeccably.

Getting between the lumbering Kurt Zouma and Coufal, Barnes won his one on one with Fabianski, placing it through the substitute goalkeeper's legs from about 12 yards out.
3-3

90 mins Dubravka's simple pass out to Burn on the left hand side of the field found him in space and able to carry the ball before returning it to the middle, where Gordon flicked it into the path of Isak. 

His ball out wide reached Barnes and he looped a first-time pass to Gordon, who had progressed down the left channel.
Shepherded by Zouma and Koufal, Gordon played the ball back from the left side of the box to Harvey Barnes on the edge of the area. His first touch saw him allow the ball to run past as he repositioned himself, that feint outwitting the inert Phillips in the process. 

With Konstantinos Mavropanos coming to meet him as he moved infield, the Magpies substitute sent a perfect curling effort beyond Fabianski and just inside the far post, celebrating with a knee slide of monumental proportions.
4-3

Full time: Newcastle 4 West Ham 3

We Said

 
Eddie Howe - who was booked - said:

"You have to make a split-second decision on what you think is best (in the wake of the Jamaal Lascelles injury and replacement). Maybe it was too many players changing position and we had to adjust and by the time that happened we were 2-1 down. But we had to change it again in the second half and those changes worked out in a positive way for us.

"It was a brilliant advert for the Premier League, I think, a really good advert for the league in terms of the drama, the changes in the game and the flows in momentum.

"At 3-1 down it looked a really difficult point in our season but the players remained calm. They’re incredible professionals and that’s an incredible win for us.

"It tells us we have some unbelievable professionals in there and we still have a spirit that we will never give up. It is a game we will never forget, it was a pleasure to be a part of it and I can't praise the players enough.

"It gives us renewed confidence – and hope. We still feel we have an opportunity to make something of our season. If we’d lost it would have been difficult to do that but, when you’re chasing a game you want chaos and we definitely had that.”

On injuries: 

"Unfortunately, we were getting hit left, right and centre today. We were 1-0 up, and then Jamaal goes off. Miggy
(Almiron) goes off, Anthony (Gordon) is sent off and Tino (Livramento) goes off.

"It is a catalogue, one after another, but the players we brought on made a positive impact, and that's the beauty of our squad. Jamaal has a knee problem but I don't know any more than that. I think the ball hit Tino's ankle so it's an ankle twist and Miggy hurt his knee crossing a ball.

"I always think there’s no such thing as bad luck, I think you create your own luck. We play a really high-intensity style and a real physical game.

"Naturally, if we didn’t play that style and played a different way, the physical cost on our players would be less. But when you look at some of the injuries we’ve had this year, and we’ve analysed and re-analysed them, then for a lot of them, you can’t put them into any category other than bad luck, even though I don’t really believe in it.

"I could go through injuries, and it’s been a really strange one. Even today, that’s been the case with some of the injuries we’ve got. I know some of the players have been away on international duty, and that puts an extra load on them, and I think you could see with West Ham, some of their players were going down as well. 

"The speed of the game is definitely getting quicker, week on week."

On Emil Krafth:

"No, that wasn't an injury. I wanted to get as many attacking players on the pitch as I could."

On Harvey Barnes: 

"He is an incredible player. We have missed him this season and he would have given us quality wherever he played. He is a goalscorer and they are so valuable and his two finishes today were of the highest quality. 

"Of course, the last one was memorable and will always be remembered and what a finish it was. That's the quality he has."

They Said

 

David Moyes - who was booked - said:

"We are trying to challenge for Europe, we wanted to beat one of the teams close to us, and for long periods we looked like we were.

"We scored some good goals, but when we got 3-1 up we just weren’t showing the elements of defensive duty which you have to do. It looked too easy today, but I have to say that so many decisions went against us today.

"There’s disappointment, more than anything, that we didn’t win the game. Ultimately we should have come away with points from the game and we didn’t do so.

"The (second) penalty kick is a huge turning point, but I also thought we made a change (Kalvin Phillips for Michail Antonio) because we felt as if they had got on top and missed a couple of chances.

"We tried to give ourselves another midfield player at 3-1 up and we didn’t want to wait for it to get to 3-2. Probably that decision didn’t work on the day, but more importantly I think the boy puts his foot in front of Kalvin and I don’t know how he’s supposed to see his leg.

"The penalty kick makes it 3-2 and we had been doing OK. We gave up a couple of chances before that which I didn’t like and they had started to get some control shooting down the hill, but we had another day when very few things went for us.

"We got ourselves in front and did a lot of good things. We looked a real threat in our attacking play for most of the day. We just couldn’t be defensively sound and let’s be fair we’ve had that issue many times already this season.

"I’ve not had the chance to look back at it yet, but feeling was he (Dan Burn) pushed Mo in the back when he was going through on goal. That would have been a red card and could have changed the game.

"We have to get ourselves back on it and show more resilience and toughness, which we didn’t do today. We looked a real threat in our attacking play for most of the day. We just couldn't be defensively sound and, let's be fair, we've had that issue many times already this season."

Stats


Newcastle recovered from trailing at half time in a PL game to take all three points for the first time since April 2023, when they were 0-1 down at Southampton but recovered to win 3-1. 

The last time they recovered from an interval deficit in a PL home game to win was back in March 2019, turning a 0-2 deficit against Everton into a 3-2 victory.

United's 551st PL game at SJP saw them record their 274th home victory but only a fifth 4-3 success. Unlike any of the previous four, the Magpies came from behind at half time to win:

1996/97 Aston Villa 4-3 (3-1 HT)
1996/97 Leicester City 4-3 (1-0 HT)
2001/02 Manchester United 4-3 (2-1 HT)
2004/05 Manchester City 4-3 (0-0 HT)
2023/24 West Ham 4-3
(1-2 HT)

Recollections of the 1997 Leicester 4-3 were strengthened when checking the goal times:

1997: 1-3, then goals in 77,83 & 90 minutes = 4-3
2024: 1-3, then goals in 77,83 & 90 minutes = 4-3

Alexander Isak
extended his lead at the top of the club scoring charts for the season, with his 13th and 14th goals in t
he Premier League. In all competitions he now has 18 strikes to his name, matching top scorer Callum Wilson's tally in 2022/23. That's the highest total in all competitions during a season since Alan Shearer contributed 19 during 2004/05.

The Swede has scored 24 times in the PL for United, today's brace taking him past Laurent Robert (22), Miggy Almiron (23) and Kieron Dyer (23). Next on Isak's hit list is Michael Owen (26).

Isak has now scored twice in a game for United six times (five in the PL, one in the FAC) without going on to complete his hat trick. His liking for the Hammers continues, with a second brace against them this season added to the strike during the only time he faced them in 2022/23.

Isak is only the second player in PL history to score penalties in a game against different 'keepers. The first was Steven Gerrard in a 5-0 home win over Aston Villa in March 2009. Beating Brad Friedel on 39 minutes, Gerrard repeated the feat against substitute custodian Brad Guzan on 65 minutes.

That's now 17 successive penalties converted in the PL for the Magpies, with Isak extending his 100% record to six spot kicks scored (seven in seven including the FA Cup).  

Newcastle have now netted 142 in their 1,101 PL fixtures to date. Today was the ninth occasion we've been awarded two in the same game - and the sixth time we've scored both:  

12.02.1994 Wimbledon (a) Beardsley 49, 90
17.04.1999 Everton (h) Shearer 32(missed), 82
19.09.1999 Sheff Wed (h) Shearer 33, 84
13.09.2003 Everton (a) Shearer 59, 82
05.02.2011 Arsenal (h) Barton 68, 83
26.12.2013 Stoke City (h) Remy 43(missed), Cisse 80
14.05.2021 Man C (h) Joelinton 45+6, Willock 62(missed)*
13.05.2023 Leeds United (a) Wilson 31, 69
30.03.2024 West Ham (h) Isak 6, 77

* Willock did score in open play from the rebound

Harvey Barnes doubled his seasonal PL goal tally to four. All four have come after appearing from the bench during the second half of home games and kicking towards the Gallowgate End.

13
of United's 63 PL goals so far this season have been scored by substitutes, including at least one in each of their most recent five fixtures. 

That's now 38 home PL goals scored by Newcastle so far this season, a total only reached or exceeded in seven previous seasons of participation in that:

1993/94
51 goals (21 games)
1994/95 46 goals (21 games)
1995/96 38 goals (19 games)
1996/97 54 goals (19 games)
1999/00 42 goals (19 games)
2001/02 40 goals (19 games)
2010/11 41 goals (19 games)
2023/24 38 goals (15 games)

The Magpies reached ten home wins meanwhile for the thirteenth time in the PL:

1993/94
14 (21 games)
1994/95 14 (21 games)
1995/96 17 (19 games
1996/97 13 (19 games)
1999/00 10 (19 games)
2000/01 10 (19 games)
2001/02 12 (19 games)
2002/03 15 (19 games)
2003/04 11 (19 games)
2005/06 11 (19 games)
2011/12 11 (19 games)
2022/23 11 (19 games)
2023/24 10 (15 games)

Newcastle have leaked no less than 51 PL goals this season, 32 away and 19 at home. The most they've conceded in one season is 68 in the 2012/13 campaign - last season's total was just 33.

Hammers in Toon - PL era:

2023/24 won 4-3 Isak 2pens, Barnes 2
2022/23
drew 1-1 Wilson
2021/22 lost 2-4 Wilson, Murphy
2020/21 won 3-2 og, Joelinton, Willock
2019/20 drew 2-2 Almiron, Shelvey
2018/19 lost 0-3
2017/18 won 3-0 Joselu, Clark, Mitrovic
2015/16 won 2-1 Perez, Wijnaldum
2014/15 won 2-0 Sissoko, Gutierrez
2013/14 drew 0-0
2012/13 lost 0-1
2010/11 won 5-0 Best 3, Nolan, Lovenkrands
2008/09 drew 2-2 Owen, Carroll
2007/08 won 3-1 Viduka 2, N'Zogbia
2006/07 drew 2-2 Milner, Solano
2005/06 drew 0-0
2002/03 won 4-0 LuaLua 2, Shearer, Solano
2001/02 won 3-1 Shearer, LuaLua, Robert
2000/01 won 2-1 Cort, Solano
1999/00 drew 2-2 Dabizas, Speed
1998/99 lost 0-3
1997/98 lost 0-1
1996/97 drew 1-1 Beardsley
1995/96 won 3-0 Albert, Asprilla, Ferdinand
1994/95 won 2-0 Clark, Kitson
1993/94 won 2-0 Cole 2

The first red card of Anthony Gordon's senior career was also Newcastle's first of the season. The most recent PL dismissal before today was Nick Pope at home to Liverpool in February 2023.

Coming into this game on eight bookings, Gordon's eventual sending off left that total unaltered and saw him suspended for one game, which will be at home to Everton on Tuesday. That's our 30th PL game of the season: as long as he doesn't get booked in the 31st, the threat of a two match ban for reaching 10 yellow cards will pass when the 32 game mark is reached.

The threat of a two-match suspension remains for Bruno Guimaraes, who is on nine bookings. Since seeing yellow in four successive PL games during December and January, the Brazilian has avoided censure in eight successive appearances. To avoid a two game ban, he needs to stay out of trouble in our next three matches. 


Waffle

An extraordinary afternoon at Gallowgate concluded with a victory photo call in the home dressing room - although the RVI may have been a more suitable location for Eddie Howe's battered players.

To say this match had everything scarcely does it justice: whole seasons have passed by with less incident than was contained in 113 memorable minutes of bravery, controversy and stupidity.

Ten-man Newcastle went ahead, surrendered that lead to trail 1-3 and then recovered to win despite losing players to injury at a rate of knots before finishing up a man short after a dismissal.

Here's our immediate post-match attempt at documenting the madness:

3 mins: Anthony Gordon goes down following a needless foul in the box by Vladimir Coufal.

6 mins: Following a prolonged VAR check to decide that Gordon wasn't offside, Alexander Isak rams home his penalty conversion at the Leazes End. 1-0

11 mins: Jamaal Lascelles goes to ground on the edge of his own box but continues after treatment, waving away the offer of a stretcher.

17 mins: Lascelles pulls up unable to continue and is replaced by Emil Krafth. He goes to right back with Tino Livramento switching to left back and Dan Burn partnering Fabian Schar in the centre.

21 mins: Lucas Paqueta's through ball sets Michail Antonio clear in the Newcastle half and he strides forward before beating Martin Dubravka. 1-1

37 mins: Gordon puts a free header past the post following Jacob Murphy's centre from the right.

45+5 mins: Bruno fires against the crossbar.

45+10 mins: Schar is penalised for a foul outside his own box and is still prone with a head injury when West Ham take a quick free kick -  Mohammed Kudus firing home with a rising shot. 1-2

45+12 mins: Protests by Newcastle over the West Ham goal are fruitless but another two minutes are added on to the 10 originally indicated.

46 mins: Having struggled in the closing stages of the first half with outfield players taking his kicks, West Ham goalkeeper Alphonese Areola is replaced by Lukas Fabianski. 

48 mins: A rapid West Ham counter-attack seems to catch Livramento by surprise and Kudus steams past him before playing in Jarrod Bowen 1-3.

49 mins: scenes of celebration from away fans on L7 contrast with large swathes of empty seats below them in corporate home areas, amid unconfirmed reports of a pudding malfunction.

55 mins: Livramento goes to ground under challenge on the Newcastle left and receives treatment.

56 mins: Livramento is unable to continue and is replaced by Miguel Almiron. Joe Willock also makes way for Lewis Hall, who slots in at left back.

57 mins: Krafth also appears to be in discomfort and the substitute is substituted by Elliot Anderson.

63 mins: A passage of play inside the West Ham box ends with Isak miskicking in front of goal.

65 mins: A passage of play inside the West Ham box ends with Longstaff miskicking in front of goal.

67 mins: Schar looks to have tweaked a hamstring as he makes a clearance on the right touchline. Any thoughts he had of coming off are dashed though by the sight of Almiron sitting on the halfway line. The substitute is substituted by Harvey Barnes - Newcastle's fifth and final replacement. 

69 mins: Enjoying a two goal lead, David Moyes withdraws the dangerous Antonio and replaces him with Kalvin Phillips. A West Ham social media prophet posts "4-3 incoming." 

72 mins: Gordon's ball from the right to the back post reaches Barnes but he volleys at Fabianski.

74 mins: Further attempts by Barnes and Bruno are repelled before Gordon theatrically goes down on the penalty spot under challenge from Phillips. The referee indicates that a VAR check is happening, but nobody seems particularly bothered at that point and both sides reform ahead of the restart.

76 mins: The restart is delayed and Fabianski scoops up the match ball as he wanders out of his area. Gordon goes behind the Gallowgate goal and returns with another ball that he places on the spot as the referee is invited to check the pitchside monitor.

77 mins: Penalty given, Isak dispatches in similar fashion to the first - low and right-footed to bottom left of the Gallowgate goal. 2-3.

80 mins: Gordon illegally stops a West Ham attack by clinging on to an opponent. He's booked, along with Moyes, who now appears to be in the grip of a demonic possession.

83 mins: Isak receives the ball for the umpteenth time in the centre circle and again has time to collect it, turn and attack. Barnes times his forward run impeccably and fires home. 3-3

85 mins: Longstaff's drilled pass from the right to the back post is just missed by Barnes as he steams in. Any contact and that's in the net.

89 mins: Gordon somehow ghosts into the box and seems to defy physics to get a shot away that's just too high.

90 mins: Barnes. Ball. Shot. Goal. Bedlam. 4-3

90 mins: touchline celebration sees Howe booked.

90+2 mins:
Gordon kicks ball away, receives second booking, red card shown as he's applauded off.

90+7 mins: Kudus cross from the right to back post is met by Soucek but he chests it into side netting. Dubravka appears to be cramping up, a colleague intervenes. 

90+10 mins: Full time whistle blows.

And relax.....

Anyone looking for coherent analysis of that little lot should try somewhere else, but our instant reaction is that this victory has salvaged a season - even if the latest crop of injuries has simultaneously made our task in the remaining games much harder.

Barnes will take the plaudits for his super sub role and a goal that will exist in the minds of those present long after the the footage has been deleted. Whether he'd have been given the opportunity to have done so if Almiron remained fit is debatable. 

Both Elliot Anderson and Lewis Hall though were assets when they were introduced, Hall amply taking the opportunity presented to him. All three should be more heavily involved in the remainder of the season - injuries permitting..... 

It's timely also that Isak looked to have completed another 90 minutes without incident following his extended pitch time for Sweden. Three full games in ten days may become four in 13 though and five in 17 - running the risk of overloading that reduced his availability earlier in the season.

The parallels between these two sides were clear when they shared four goals earlier in the season and to see them collectively serving up another seven today is no shock. Most of what's good about either side isn't in their own half.

Even when two behind though, chances were always going to appear - the frustration was that we were looking as if we'd be unable to exploit West Ham's willingness to concede territory by actually testing their goalkeeper(s). Barnes emphatically altered that, leaving them both tattered and torn....

What will get largely forgotten in all of the tumult is the manner in which the Hammers went 2-1 up; a debatable refereeing decision to allow the free kick to be taken and what looks like some reflection followed by an opportunity for atonement taken when stood in front of the VAR monitor. From a defensive point of view though, it's a shambles.  

If you ever wondered why folks trek here from across the planet and the TV schedulers adore us, then today is pretty much exhibit A.

Happy Easter - feel free to insert your own line about resurrections etc.

Biffa

 

 

 


Page last updated 24 June, 2024