Newcastle stuttered a little against West Ham, but it says much for their progress that they will consider this two points lost rather than one point gained…
If nothing else, Everton’s lunchtime win against Arsenal will have caught the imaginations of those just behind the leaders in the Premier League table. Manchester United reduced their gap to eight points with a home win against Crystal Palace, as well as nudging their way up to third place in the table. Manchester City could reduce theirs to just two with a win at Tottenham tomorrow. And then came Newcastle United.
No matter how possible it’s started to look as the weeks have progressed – and they’ve now been in the top four since the middle of October – few seem to have countenanced the possibility of Newcastle getting involved in the Premier League title race. But a win in the evening kick-off against a West Ham team which has been faltering this season would have given them an opportunity to reduce their deficit to the leaders to eight points.
Newcastle bullishness reached new heights in their previous match, when their win against Southampton took them to another milestone on their journey as part of the Saudi Arabian sportswashing project, a first cup final since 1999 and a first League Cup final since 1976. A home match against West Ham, a team who kicked off separated from the Premier League’s relegation places by goal difference only, seemed like a perfect game for them to celebrate such a moment.
They were certainly handed the perfect start by a West Ham defence which began the game as though they were kicking off at 5.30 in the morning. Newcastle had a goal disallowed within 40 seconds when Miguel Almiron’s cross was turned in from close range by Joe Willock, only for play to be pulled back because Almiron had been unable to keep the ball in play before delivering his cross.
Respite for the West Ham defence couldn’t have been more temporary. Almost immediately, a gaping hole opened up in the centre of their midfield and Sean Longstaff’s pass was perfectly weighted for Callum Wilson to sweep the ball past Lukasz Fabianksi with his first touch. The party that had started the previous week seemed set to continue.
But while this shock and awe start threatened to blow West Ham away before they’d even got into their stride, Newcastle spent the remainder of the first half failing to live up to their early billing. The absence of Bruno Guimaraes, suspended for three…
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