These types of matches have long been a problem for Eddie Howe’s Newcastle, when it is up to them to pick the lock rather than run onto the pitch with the key.
And so, as they fumbled and failed to make the right connections, West Ham twice walked through an open door on the other side. It was the win from prison that their manager Julen Lopetegui so desperately needed. Not that it was really a robbery.
It was said that Lopetegui had two games to save his job when he was involved, and it was suspected that an off night on Tyneside could well hasten his departure. However, this was a very good night, certainly his best night away from the London Stadium.
The Spaniard was shown a yellow card in the first half – his third of the season – meaning he will be in the stands for Saturday’s visit to Arsenal. Given how aggressive and committed he was on the sidelines, his players will miss his presence this weekend. Now there is an explanation you could never have imagined, with a section of fans calling for Lopetegui to go in recent weeks.
He said his only emotion afterward was hunger, just as his players had shown in recent hours. Goals in both halves from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka put them just three points behind Newcastle, who expected to break into the top six with a third straight win.
The story of their night is becoming a familiar one. Unable to play on the break and thanks to the strengths of speedsters like Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon, they had plenty of possession but didn’t do nearly enough with it. Howe’s team is at its best when there is space for them to exploit. The truth is that they are better when they have less possession.
West Ham stunned Newcastle to record a 2-0 win on their visit to St James’ Park
Tomas Soucek drove away in celebration after scoring a header in the 10th minute
Aaron Wan-Bissaka then doubled their lead with a neatly taken finish in the second half
They got worse as the match went on, becoming more ragged with every substitution. This made West Ham stronger and confidence grew. From the moment of their second goal in the 54th minute, the outcome was never in doubt. Lukasz Fabianski did not have to make any more saves after that. In fact, he only made two before that.
“They (my players) will have a good idea of how I feel,” Howe said, when asked if he had read the riot act. ‘The last half hour I really didn’t like us. It gives a negative feeling.’
Newcastle were hardly helped by atrocious defending for West Ham’s goals. Soucek scored the first after 10 minutes. It was such a bad goal to concede, the 6ft 1in midfielder was able to stoop to connect with Emerson’s corner. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. From the moment the Brazilian delivered the ball, as defender Lloyd Kelly lost his man and his mind, it was clear to everyone at St James’ Park how this would end. Soucek, who Kelly bizarrely stepped away from, planted his feet in the ground and his free header into the bottom corner.
It silenced St. James’, expecting 3,600 traveling Hammers. ‘How s*** do you have to be, we’re winning?’ they crowed.
They were calmer at half-time as their team was forced onto the back foot and began to ride their luck. But they were lucky. When Jean Clair-Todibo gifted Newcastle the best chance of the match, giving away an attempted clearance inside the six-yard box, Gordon could only smash the loose ball straight into Fabianski’s midriff.
At least he found the target, unlike eight of his team’s attempts on target in the first half. Isaac was the biggest culprit. Twice he missed the ball from good positions and found the stands where supporters had unfurled a giant banner in tribute to him before kick-off. Unfortunately for Newcastle this time it was Alexander-the-not-so-Great.
Howe responded at half-time by bringing on Harvey Barnes – the manager denies he is a super sub, but that was his best use in fifteen months at the club – and Newcastle still played most of the football in the half opposition when West Ham left. on the other side and made it two.
Newcastle had no answer to the Hammers’ determined defense after going one goal down
Wan-Bissaka’s goal was the first time he had found the back of the net since joining West Ham
They were helped by the casual resistance of the home team, as if they did not expect the visitors to show the ambition to go on for a while. But they did, and their ambition was evident as the sight of right-back Wan-Bissaka bursting into the area to score his first for the club. In fact, it was his first goal for any club in three years. Despite holding his position to protect himself from Barnes’ arrival, he saw a gap and went for it. Jarrod Bowen found his point and Wan-Bissaka got low over Nick Pope and into the bottom corner.
After that it all went relatively easy, and that has not often been the case for West Ham and Lopetegui this season.