Newcastle United 4 West Ham United 3
It's not the despair... After attending to my hedge fund (or at least cutting my hedge) it's a 12.30pm kick-off on TNT for the game at St James's Park. It's a terrible start from West Ham with Coufal bringing down the lively Gordon for an early penalty. Gordon has run back from an offside position but again VAR decides against the Hammers. A silly lunge from Vlad though, as Isak dispatches the penalty past Areola.
But West Ham improve after this early setback. Newcastle are disrupted by Lascalles going off injured and a great through ball from the unmarked Paqueta sees Antonio breach the Geordies back-line to score. Guimaraes hits the bar for the home side but West Ham take the lead just before the break as Paqueta takes a quick free kick and Bowen's cross is thumped home by Kudus.
Fabianski comes on for the injured Areola. An away win seems inevitable when a great run down the left by Kudus sees him find Jarrod Bowen, who scores a fine breakaway goal on 48 minutes.
But the game turns on substitutions. Moyes brings on Kalvin Phillips for Antonio after 69 minutes. Shoring up the midfield at 3-1 isn't necessarily a bad idea, but you need a player like the suspended Alvarez to do it. Unfortunately Moyes does it with Phillips, who is increasingly looking like the accident-prone Frank Spencer of football. The anti-Moyes fans have a point in that Antonio is surely now match fit and can last the full 90 minutes and with his strength offer some respite to the defence.
Newcastle's injuries continue to mount, but the worst thing possible for West Ham is sub Almiron getting injured and being replaced by Harvey Barnes. The Toon are right back in it when the hapless Phillips is adjudged to have given away a penalty, though not by the ref. You've got to feel sorry for Kalvin as Gordon puts his foot in front of the West Ham man as he's about to kick the ball. It's certainly not deliberate and if anything a foul by Gordon. But again VAR decides against the Irons.
West Ham's collective nerve seems to go at this point as the Toon scuff a number of presentable chances. But the inevitable happens on 83 minutes as Barnes' bending run fools our centre backs and he beats Fabianski in a one-on-one finish. The home crowd go mental. There are still hopes of a point until the 90th minute. Gordon plays a short pass to Barnes and Phillips, trying to over-compensate for the penalty, dives in and allows the winger to swerve past him. Barnes sends a cracking finish into the far corner. Sod it.
There's still time for Gordon to get sent off for two yellows and West Ham to almost equalise as Kudus's cross eludes the keeper but Soucek can only chest wide when he should probably have headed it home. So some good things for 60 minutes and a terrible last half hour. It's not entirely Phillips' fault, our defence is conceding far too many goals, with Zouma injury-prone, Dinos promising but inexperienced and both full backs better going forward than defending. While Paqueta, Kudus and Bowen needed to do more to relieve the pressure in the final quarter.
At least there's a chance to redeem ourselves against Spurs on Thursday but it's another game lost without Alvarez. And poor old Kalvin Phillips' confidence is just so shot we can't afford to bring him on unless we're wining 5-0. It would have been a lot easier to have just lost this one 1-0. Nurse, the screens.
4 comments:
This was a gut-wrenching defeat that I found harder to take than the 0-6 against Arsenal. The penalty was incredibly harsh. Phillips barely seems to understand what's going on in front of him so how was he supposed to know that Gordon was coming in behind him?
That apart, our collapse was catastrophic and, unless, we can turnover the Spuds tomorrow, possibly season defining and I fear our campaign could just peter out.
Still though, 3-1 up to 4-3 down, it's the West Ham way back again, just what a lot of people are calling for ..
Wonderful write up, thank you, cheered me up.
You're right it isn't Phillips fault entirely, a weird penalty call, "Betty" its happening again!
He was a great footballer for Leeds, but not match fit, rusty, and now zero confidence.
Anyway positives are we came back from a poor start at Newcastle, wow we do have menace with the original three playing up front, and as MJ says its almost " the west ham way".
Look we are playing in European competition against a really great German team, and we are 7 th with 44 points and we are not going to be relegated, what's not to like?
Sorry its probably my age but we have been in much worse places. COYI
Agreed Jack, and we are seeing goals at least, though a lot of them at the wrong end. And it used to be we were fighting relegation at this time of year. If the West Ham way is to be consistently inconsistent then hopefully we can turn over Spurs tomorrow.
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