West Ham's survival hopes hanging by a thread
Newcastle United 3 - 1 West Ham United
West Ham’s survival hopes are hanging by a thread after a deeply damaging defeat by Newcastle.
Author | Jamie Pugh
Stadium | St. James' Park
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side had the opportunity to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone and heap the pressure back on Tottenham Hotspur with victory at St James’ Park before the Hammers’ rivals face Chelsea on Tuesday evening.
Instead, with their vastly inferior goal difference leaving little margin for error, West Ham now require Chelsea to win at Stamford Bridge if they are to retain any realistic hope of survival heading into the final day after this 3-1 defeat on Tyneside.
The visitors never truly recovered after conceding twice in quick succession during the first half on Sunday.
A closer analysis of what happened and why
West Ham were the architects of their own downfall for Newcastle’s opener when goalkeeper Mads Hermansen overhit a pass towards Jean-Clair Todibo, allowing the alert Harvey Barnes to pounce on the loose ball down the right.
Barnes drove into the area and clipped a cross towards Nick Woltemade, who hooked the ball beyond Hermansen for his first league goal since December.
Newcastle doubled their lead four minutes later as Jacob Ramsey fizzed a pass into William Osula, with the in-form striker calmly finishing through Hermansen’s legs.
Nuno sat with his head bowed in the dugout as any semblance of a game plan quickly unravelled.
The West Ham manager introduced substitute Valentin Castellanos midway through the first half and the forward almost made an immediate impact, forcing Nick Pope into a sharp save with a volley before the Newcastle goalkeeper denied El Hadji Malick Diouf on the rebound with his legs.
Osula then appeared to extinguish any lingering hopes of a comeback when he swept home from Joe Willock’s cutback in the second half after a neat one-two with the substitute.
There was still time for Castellanos to reduce the deficit with a superb first-time strike from distance, briefly setting up a tense finish for Newcastle.
The result leaves West Ham in 18th place and staring at relegation, while Newcastle climb to 11th and keep alive their slim hopes of European qualification.
