10 March 2025
West Ham 0 Newcastle 1
West Ham welcomed Newcastle to the London Stadium as they looked to find some form in the remainder of the season to improve their league position. For the visitors, they have not ruled out making a late charge for the Champions League places with things so tight at the top of the table. The Magpies went into this game with one eye on the Carabao Cup final next weekend.
The Hammers should have taken the lead with less than a minute on the clock. As the bubbles were still raining down on the pitch, a long ball out wide found Kudus. He ran at Schar before putting a teasing cross into the penalty area. It dropped to Soucek, six yards out in the middle of the goal, but the midfielder blazed his shot over the crossbar.
Newcastle took some confidence from the miss as they pushed forward themselves. Trippier shot from the edge of the box as Barnes diverted the effort towards goal. As it came through a crowd of players, Areola got down well to make the save. The Magpies recycled it as Guimaraes looked to drive into the box, ending up on the floor, looking for a penalty. The referee showed no interest in his claims.
Howe’s side forced a corner, with Burn recycling it back into the danger area. Barnes reacted quickest to head it goalwards but Areola clawed it around the post to deny the visitors. The West Ham keeper was sporting a new look, resembling an end of level boss in a narco video game. He was having to keep his side in the game as The Magpies looked to turn the screw in the capital.
Potter’s side were struggling to find a foothold in the match as the visitors began to dominate. It was all looking scrappy from The Hammers as they failed to break up the attacking play of The Magpies. Despite this, it was the hosts who went into the break wondering what could have been after that early miss from Soucek.
After the interval, Newcastle continued to press, looking to break the deadlock. A ball clipped over the West Ham defence was cut back from the byline by Murphy, turned goalwards by Kilman. Areola made a fantastic acrobatic stop to save his defender’s blushes at the London Stadium. The keeper was single-handedly keeping his side in this game.
It was a real lacklustre performance from The Hammers, failing to get to grips with The Magpies. They were offering no attacking threat whatsoever since their early miss. Howe’s side were in control of the game and it just looked a matter of time before they broke the deadlock. Something had to change if West Ham were to get anything from this match.
The hosts were struggling to get out of their own half at this point. Tonali spread the ball out wide to Barnes, who cut inside and looked to get a shot away. The effort was blocked but the former Leicester winger recycled it well as he clipped a cross into the danger area. Guimaraes got on the end of it to slot past Areola and give The Magpies the lead.
It silenced the London Stadium but was no more than the visitors deserved. Had it not been for the West Ham keeper, they could have been out of sight by this stage. Even with such a slender lead, it seemed a long way back into the game for Potter’s side. They had simply not been at the races, with Pope having nothing to do in the visitors’ goal.
This is the dilemma Potter faces as West Ham manager. The club have invested heavily in the squad over recent years but there seems to be no chemistry at all. It all looked scrappy from The Hammers and they were making it all too easy for The Magpies to control the game. With no real focal point up top, it was becoming very predictable from the hosts.
As time began to run out, The Hammers tried desperately to find a goal. Kudus was the only player who was asking any questions of the visitors’ defence. Bowen had been non-existent as The Magpies stopped his supply from start to finish. The London Stadium began to empty out and looked like there was a development game taking place out on the pitch.
The Hammers lumped high balls into the box but Pope dominated his penalty area, punching it clear on numerous occasions. Newcastle almost caught the hosts out as an attack broke down, with Areola having come forward to join the attack. Fortunately the pass towards Isak was cut out to save the keeper’s blushes as he struggled to get back to his goal.
It seemed like Potter’s side would struggle to find a goal if they played for 180 minutes in the capital. The Magpies dug deep and held on for an important three points. Victory took them up to seventh in the table, level on points with Man City. The Hammers dropped to two places above the bottom three but have a significant points cushion to relieve any relegation worries.
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