Newcastle West Ham

West Ham United find themselves staring down the abyss of relegation to the Championship. An atrocious start to the game saw West Ham fall two goals behind in the opening 20 minutes, ultimately condemning them to a 3-1 defeat, resulting in relegation being completely out of their hands.

West Ham came to this fixture needing to win to get out of the relegation zone and go above Tottenham Hotspur, but after such an abysmal start, they could possibly be relegated as early as Tuesday night, should Tottenham do well in the coming days.

The Match Action

The visitors were architects of their own demise even from the first exchanges. Just after 15 minutes, an extremely sloppy ball played out from the back by goalkeeper Mads Hermansen was immediately exposed. Harvey Barnes took advantage of the poor play, breaking away down the right side before delivering to Nick Woltemade, who delivered a devastatingly precise shot to score the first goal of the match.

Not even four minutes passed before Newcastle scored a second goal of exceptional beauty. Veteran Magpie Kieran Trippier launched a one-touch counter-attack, which included Barnes, Bruno Guimarães, and Jacob Ramsey. This electrifying series of passes allowed William Osula to sprint through to goal, where he calmly delivered the ball into the net using his left foot.

The enraged Nuno Espírito Santo saw enough, promptly switching from his 3-4-3 formation in just 26 minutes and deploying Valentín Castellanos into the fray. Although the change in tactic stemmed the haemorrhaging of goals and allowed Castellanos and El Hadji Malick Diouf to pose a threat against Nick Pope within the first half, Newcastle wrapped up their win just 20 minutes into the second period. Osula tapped the ball into an open goal after an elaborate one-two move with Joe Willock.

West Ham briefly gave hope to their fans in the 69th minute when Castellanos scored for them with an exquisite chip shot outside the penalty box. It seemed like he almost provided the Magpies with another exciting finale when his thunderbolt struck the post and bar junction, but Newcastle held off any challenge that came their way.

Data Debrief

Drought Over: Nick Woltemade’s opening goal ended a brutal goalless streak of 17 consecutive games in the Premier League for the German forward. Up until that game on Sunday, he had not scored since a 2-2 draw against Chelsea on December 20.
A New Toon Record: William Osula made history by becoming the youngest player to net a double in the Premier League for Newcastle United. The 22-year-old 286-day-old striker surpassed the record set by Kenedy against Southampton in March 2018.
A Bizarre Silver Lining: While his mistake earlier in the game is memorable, Mads Hermansen was awarded the assist for Castellanos’ stunning lobbed goal. It turns out that West Ham are now the third club ever to register a goalkeeping assist twice in a single Premier League campaign. Only Derby County (96-97) and Newcastle (12-13) have managed it before.
European Pulse: The win ensures that Newcastle’s tiny chances of reaching Europe remain alive. With victory over Fulham next week, a favourable run of results could see them secure eighth place in the league table.

The Aftermath

In Eddie Howe’s case, it’s an ideal way to say goodbye to St James’ Park after a long season where there has been a lot to celebrate. It provided Kieran Trippier with a fantastic send-off victory.

For Nuno Espírito Santo, things look very grim indeed from a mathematical perspective. As a result of their vastly inferior goal difference, the only hope for West Ham is a win against Leeds United on Sunday combined with Spurs losing both their remaining matches. Should Tottenham register even a single point ahead of the weekend, West Ham would drop into the Championship.

Match Summary