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Happy Hammers hold on for precious point

Newcastle 1 Hammers 1

Match verdict by Hughie Southon

Well, that was a whole lot better as the Irons maintained their ability to produce good performances  against the better teams.

They got off to the worse possible start with a Newcastle goal ruled out by VAR before conceding 11 seconds later via a ball straight through our “defence” for Callum Wilson to score.

It was one of those serious “here we go again” moments but although Newcastle smashed forward for a further 15 minutes the Hammers grew into the game and an indeed bossed it at the end of the half after equalising  through a 32nd minute goal from Luis Paqueta from a well taken corner.

The celebration was massive from a man who is looking better and better in claret and blue and whose body language is exuding more and more confidence

Declan Rice was immense and at the back as Newcastle thundered forward time and again in the second period when Nayef Aguerd was incredible – making one amazing intervention inside the penalty area as Wilson shaped to score what looked a certain goal.

He marshalled a defence brilliantly but make no mistake Oggy – despite his age – is looking as good as ever and maybe worth another contract. Yes I mean that,

Declan said afterwards that we are in a position where we need points from every game and this one truly was massive.

He added they were really looking forward to the game against Chelsea and it is now clear the confidence is growing.

So fair play to the manager and squad after much criticism from us and elsewhere – this was far, far better.

So it is now Chelsea and the Spuds …bring it on!

 

 

About Hugh5outhon1895

Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!" Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon

2 comments on “Happy Hammers hold on for precious point

  1. Our defense is always much better with Oggy on the pitch!

    We’re going to miss Dec so much next year. He was everywhere on the field today, marshaling the troops. But having Aguerd is some consolation: he looks a top-notch footballer. Coufal played a fantastic game today too.

    The real surprise to me was how accurate our passing was, especially in the first half. We moved the ball forward with control and precision instead of hoofing it up the field as we usually do.

    Chelsea and Spurs are both flawed sides, and after today I can imagine getting something from the next two if we continue to improve. COYI!

  2. I’m feeling a slight more optimistic after this game.
    Let’s see what the next few games bring.
    I had been dreading this run of fixtures, but if we get a result against Chelsea next time out, I think teams will start to give us some respect again (knowing how our last 2 seasons went).
    If Scamacca, Ings and Antonio start to fire, who knows?
    Perhaps we can salvage something of the season and hopefully go on a cup run.
    Admittedly I went down the path of a long suffering West Ham fan and saw this season as a return to the norm, but we should be looking onwards and upwards.
    Whatever you think of the ownership of the two Dave’s, they did invest unlike anything under the Brown’s I can remember (best we forget the Icelandic period).
    Is Moyse the best man for the job still? I think the end of the season will answer that question, let’s face it, he ain’t going anywhere now.
    When I chose West Ham as a kid, little did I know that I’d chosen a lifetime of emotional torture 😆

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