Newcastle 4 West Ham 3: Player Ratings from the Premier League game at St James Park
Areola:6 Dived the wrong way for the Isak penalty but really had no chance. Nothing to do aside from the pen but managed to pick up an injury.
Coufal:4 Terrible start. Immediately conceded penalty in the 2nd minute by fouling Gordon and Isak scored from the resulting penalty. Gave the ball away too many times then gave Gordon a free uncontested header from which he should have scored. Coufal v Gordon was a mismatch.
Mavropanos:8 Dominant at times and fast becoming West Ham’s best defender. Possibly out of position for Newcastle’s 3rd but the midfield should have cut out the pass.
Zouma:7 Made a couple of telling interceptions in the first half but still makes me nervous when he is pressed into passing quickly. Some excellent headed clearances but his long passing was awful and constantly gave possession to Newcastle United.
Emerson:7 Misses his mate Pequeta on the left but the team is more balanced as a result. Great clearing header.
Soucek:8 Put in a full defensive stint in midfield in the absence of Alvarez. Brilliantly timed tackle just before half time. His defensive work paved the way for The Hammers third. Immense and had a good chance to chest the winner in the 96th min.
Ward-Prowse:6 Possibly the least involved but played his part.
Paqueta:9 Incredible chipped pass for Antonio’s equaliser. Showed his ruthless streak by feigning a blow to the head by his Brazilian best mate Bruno Guimarães. Made the Geordie fans furious. Absolute pantomime villain. Outstanding.
Newcastle 4 West Ham 3: Paqueta was outstanding and frustrated Toon fans all afternoon
Bowen:8 Managed a snapshot but not really involved in the first half until 10 mins into injury time when he set-up Kudus for West Ham’s second. Scored at the start of the second half showing good composure.
Kudus:9 Looked fit and sharp from the off. Incredible solo run should have yielded a freekick. Won the foul and scored a goal from the corresponding freekick.
Antonio:7 Smart turn at the start of the game but blazed over. Scored a great goal on 20 mins following a great pass from Paqueta and showed great composure.
Substitutes
Fabianski:4 On at half time. Made a good save on 72 mins from Harvey Barnes after Coufal had lost his man again. Forced into action again during a goalmouth scramble. Like Areola, beaten by an Alexander Isak penalty. Not great for the Harvey Barnes goal and the Toons 3rd. No chance with Barnes curling 4th
Phillips:2 67th min sub for Michail Antonio. Conceded a penalty straight away after he was too slow to clear the ball and kicked Gordon who was very clever. Maybe Phillips was unlucky with VAR but Gordon had already done the same earlier in the game. Awful for Newcastle’s 4th
Johnson:5 83rd min sub for Ward Prowse
Ings: 93rd min sub for Coufal
What a humdinger. West Ham were 3-1 up and conspired to throw it away. A penny for Hughies thoughts x
Well what a surprise! 75 minutes – 3-1 up. Try to park the bus, invite pressure, concede three goals in 15 minutes. Moyes can’t do game management. He thinks he can, but, time after time this season, his idea of game management has resulted in either drawing or losing, when trying to close up the game.
Please, please µare him go away!
Well what a surprise! 75 minutes – 3-1 up. Try to park the bus, invite pressure, concede three goals in 15 minutes. Moyes can’t do game management. He thinks he can, but, time after time this season, his idea of game management has resulted in either drawing or losing, when trying to close up the game.
Please, please make him go away!
If only!😉⚒
Moyes should be sacked on the way home!
When we made the sub at ~70th min I told my old man Moyes just lost us the win (I thought it would be a draw..). Not because Philips has had a horrible time with as, which he has, but because I’ve seen so many time hos Moyes manages to defend his way to a draw/loss…. when subbing striker for defensive midfielders these things always seem to happen:
1. Opposition gets a well needed energy boost.
2. Opposition can play out of defence with no real pressure.
3. Our defensive line drops to right outside our own box. We are often able to absorb the pressure for 10ish minutes until we can’t hold on.
4. We are not drilled with a 3 man midfield, Opposition plays more easily through the middle when we have 3 central compared to when we have 2.
I’ve long defended Moyes, but over the last months I’ve changed my mind, as he seems to have stopped learning from mistakes, and today’s one by pulling the handbrake with 20 minutes left have been done too many times (he actually reverted at 4-3, bringing on Ings for Coufal and shifting Johnson to RB. What an idiot).
Already missing our post-game exchanges, but think we know what Hughie is saying, don’t you, Gonzo!😉⚒