West Ham United vs Newcastle United. Premier League.
London StadiumAttendance59,907.
Match report and highlights as Newcastle win in East London despite Hammers' late fightback
Saturday 2 November 2019 18:58, UK
West Ham's brave second-half comeback was not enough to deny Premier League strugglers Newcastle a thrilling 3-2 win at the London Stadium.
The Hammers were shocked by the Magpies' electric start as their centre-backs Ciaran Clark (16) and Federico Fernandez (22) both scored headers from well-worked set-piece routines to put them two up at the break.
The Newcastle onslaught continued in the second half as Jonjo Shelvey whipped in a fantastic free-kick from 20-yards (51) - after earlier hitting the crossbar - to put his side three ahead.
Fabian Balbuena then recorded what seemed to be a consolation goal for West Ham (73) before Robert Snodgrass' excellent late volley (90) left Newcastle hanging on for their victory in the final few minutes.
The surprise result extends Newcastle's cushion above the relegation zone to four points, while West Ham - booed off by their fans - drop to 12th in the Premier League as they continued their six-game winless streak in all competitions.
After Miguel Almiron had shown sprightly feet to trouble West Ham in the opening stages, it was Newcastle who took the lead (16).
Jonjo Shelvey delivered a menacing free-kick to the back post before Joelinton managed to direct it back across goal into a dangerous area.
Ciaran Clark then came onto the pull-back beautifully and planted a firm header past the helpless Roberto to put Newcastle ahead.
Only six minutes later, the Magpies were two up - again a set-piece catching out the static West Ham defence.
This time it was Jetro Willems who delivered a diagonal ball into the Hammers' box after an intricate free-kick, with Fernandez jumping highest to direct his header into the back of the net.
The Hammers were caught napping by Newcastle's fast start and they could have easily gone three behind after Saint-Maximin missed two glorious one-on-one chances, Almiron forced an excellent save from Roberto, and then Shelvey fired a wicked effort back off the crossbar.
It was the Englishman who then put Newcastle three up as his free-kick from 20-yards whistled past Roberto, who perhaps should have done better diving down to his left.
By this point, West Ham fans were letting their feelings known on their side's dire display - and it seemed to have the desired effect.
After a rare forage forward, Felipe Anderson's corner was directed goalbound by Sebastian Haller whose effort was well saved by Martin Dubravka, only for Fabian Balbuena to tap in the rebound (73).
West Ham suddenly had something to build from, and Snodgrass' excellent volley (90) from just outside the box set up a grandstand finish at the London Stadium.
Newcastle held on for a memorable win, though, and their spirited performance deserved no less than the three points, and helped ease the pressure on manager Steve Bruce.
West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini: "I think that was a very poor performance and I need to know why we played with that pace.
"They scored from set-pieces, they had two counter-attacks which decided the game.
"I always think that the fans are so important for the spirit of the team, but it's difficult not to understand the reaction when we played in the way we did today.
"We need to always have the fans behind us."
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce: "If we are going to be ultra-critical we gave away a bad first goal, but on the counter-attack we were a threat.
"In the first half we could have been four or five ahead.
The last 15 minutes were a bit hairy but the first half performance was as good as we've played this year."
The Newcastle man, back in the starting XI, was nothing short of excellent and dictated play from the middle of the park.
His vision and passing range set Newcastle in behind the West Ham defence all afternoon, and his fantastic free-kick early into the second half capped off a fine display from the maverick midfielder.
West Ham are back in action next Saturday (3pm kick-off) when they travel to Burnley in the Premier League. Newcastle meanwhile host Bournemouth at St James Park.
