No word from David Moyes, so that’s your lot. Thanks for reading this MBM.
Eddie Howe talks to BT. “We are satisfied with a point, but frustrated it wasn’t more. The way we started the game was excellent, front foot. The only disappointment was that we only got one goal, there was more there for us, but they are a dangerous team and a very good one. They showed that: although we dominated, they still had a threat in the game. But the character was there. I’m really pleased for Joe Willock. He works hard and he got his reward today. He’s been a key component in our recent matches. We knew today would be a tough examination and I think we came through.”
Toon goalscorer Joe Willock, a ball of positive energy, talks to BT. “We had to stick to our task. Everyone had to be at it to come away with a point today. We brought our gameplan to them, and was dominant in the first half. It shows how far we’ve come as a group, and what the manager’s instilled into us. I’m happy to score and help the team. Hopefully it continues. Eddie Howe is a brilliant manager and a brilliant person. We all trust him and we all buy into what he wants to do. I’m really happy he’s here and how far he’s taken us, and long may it continue. We’re looking to look up the table and not down.”
West Ham remain in fifth, unable to find the winner that would have taken them above Manchester United for 24 hours at least. A top-four finish may be tantalisingly out of reach. Newcastle meanwhile are still looking over their shoulder, but the momentum is with them: that’s now ten points from the last 12 available, and 12 from the last 18. They’re unbeaten in the league since Christmas.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Man Utd | 25 | 8 | 43 |
| 5 | West Ham | 26 | 11 | 42 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 22 | 9 | 39 |
| 16 | Everton | 22 | -10 | 22 |
| 17 | Newcastle | 24 | -19 | 22 |
| 18 | Norwich | 24 | -36 | 17 |
FULL TIME: West Ham United 1-1 Newcastle United
The whistle goes just before everyone threatens to throw hands. Bowen wasn’t happy about that tackle. West Ham aren’t particularly enamoured with their point, either. Newcastle seem more content with theirs.
Updated
90 min +4: Cresswell catches Krafth on the knee. Krafth rolls off the pitch injured. Play continues, with Toon down to ten men. West Ham go up the other end through Bowen, who is cleaned out by Burn. He goes in the book for a brazenly late tackle.
90 min +3: BT co-commentator Lucy Ward names Craig Dawson as man of the match.
90 min +2: Antonio batters a header clear, and when the ball returns, Newcastle are collectively caught offside.
90 min +1: A long pass into the West Ham box. Dawson and Fabianski confuse each other, and the ball clanks off the former and out for a corner on the left. Targett to take.
90 min: Fornals slides in on Almiron, studding him on the knee. A yellow card. VAR has a look, and concludes yellow is enough. Fornals a lucky chap. There will be five bonus minutes.
88 min: Willock is replaced by Guimaraes.
87 min: Antonio barges his way down the right and crosses low. The ball breaks back to Fornals, who shoots from the edge of the box. Burn blocks bravely. A decent half-chance for West Ham to snatch all three points.
85 min: Fornals tries to release Bowen down the right but the pass is overhit and claimed easily by the alert Dubravka.
83 min: Antonio throws in long from the right. Burn rises to head clear. Joelinton goes down with cramp. It’s been a reasonably entertaining game, but it’s threatening to sputter out.
81 min: Zouma rakes a pass down the left for Bowen, who is nudged from behind by Schar. The West Ham fans holler for a free kick, maybe even a penalty, but the referee’s not interested. Goal kick.
79 min: Fraser finally departs and Almiron comes on in his place. Eddie Howe not so insistent with Fraser as Moyes was with Benrahma, suggesting Newcastle will be happy enough with a point.
78 min: Fraser is down, knackered more than anything. He hauls himself up off the turf and trudges off the pitch at Benrahmaian pace.
76 min: Antonio curls in from the left. Dubravka claims easily enough. A few hoots of frustration from the home faithful, with West Ham’s bid for Champions League football faltering.
75 min: Vlasic’s first involvement is to tear at speed down the left. Fraser chases across and slides in, flipping the West Ham sub into the air like a pancake. Into the book he goes.
73 min: Benrahma, who has been poor this afternoon, is replaced by Vlasic. He’s unhappy at being hooked, and takes an age to depart. Moyes unequivocally orders him to get an effing move on. He sort of complies, and cops another rollocking when he flounces towards the bench. Another bullet point for the debrief, which will no doubt be delivered with some feeling should West Ham fail to win this game.
Updated
71 min: Fraser’s deep cross from the right forces Johnson to hack out for a corner on the left. Targett sends it into a crowded box. Zouma, who is having a very decent game, heads decisively clear.
69 min: Antonio strides down the left, bustles infield, and larrups a wild effort 200 miles over the bar. On the touchline, David Moyes hangs his head in a mixture of sorrow and irritation. No doubt that’ll be mentioned in the post-match debrief.
68 min: Fraser threatens to break into the West Ham box down the inside-left channel. Zouma comes across and executes a perfectly timed tackle. The home fans enjoyed that old-fashioned cruncher; the denizens of the away end sing their song.
66 min: Willock glides in from the left and looks for the bottom right with an ambitious curler. It’s always heading wide, but not by too much, and Fabianski was concerned enough to dive at full stretch.
64 min: Antonio looks to cross from the left. The ball clanks off his standing leg and out for a goal kick, as he takes a fresh-air swipe. Hey, these things happen, and he has the good grace to chuckle at himself.
62 min: A cheer for Zouma, who wins a tussle with Willock down the West Ham left. The seeds of a redemption story are sown.
61 min: Both players are given the once-over, and are cleared to continue. Off we go again, then.
60 min: Joelinton and Johnson clash heads as they compete for a Fraser right-wing cross. Play stops.
59 min: This game is being played at a fair old lick, but neither team are achieving much at the moment.
Updated
58 min: ... a game of head tennis breaks out, but little else.
57 min: Murphy hasn’t been getting as much change from Johnson as he did from Fredericks down the left, but he wins a corner here. And from that ...
55 min: Newcastle, by contrast, haven’t really got going in this second half yet.
Updated
53 min: Bowen drives down the inside-right channel. He’s hoping to make space to shoot, but Targett sticks to him like glue, and he can’t even get a cross away. West Ham are playing like a team given a rocket at half-time by an animated old-school Scottish manager from Central Casting.
51 min: Targett is good to continue.
49 min: Fornals hooks in from the left. Bowen brings the ball down on the penalty spot, his back to goal, and attempts to spin and shoot. Targett, just behind him, does enough to put him off, then goes down holding his head. An accidental clash, and play is stopped.
48 min: Newcastle don’t deal with the corner particularly well, allowing Cresswell to drive through a crowded box. The shot pinballs away from danger, but the ball’s soon returned into the mixer by Cresswell from the left. Soucek heads down for Dawson, who has a crack with a crisp half-volley. His shot is blocked.
Updated
47 min: Targett crosses from the left. The West Ham defence is a little hesitant, but Fabianski eventually claims. The hosts go up the other end, Johnson winning a corner with his first act of the afternoon.
46 min: The rain’s still hammering down, appropriately enough.
Newcastle get the second half started. West Ham have made a change, hooking Fredericks, on a booking and getting a chasing down the Newcastle left. Johnson comes on in his place.
Half-time entertainment. Loss of noggin special! Fornals and Shelvey take note.
HALF TIME: West Ham 1-1 Newcastle
That ball only just crossed the line before Fabianski desperately scooped it away. But cross the line it most certainly did. That’s pretty much the last act of an entertaining first half. As the players troop off, a heated discussion nearly escalates between Fornals and Shelvey. Burn steps in with the authority of a very tall man and puts a stop to the nonsense.
Updated
GOAL! West Ham 1-1 Newcastle (Willock 45+1)
Murphy and Fraser combine crisply down the left. The latter dinks a cross into the middle. Rice tries to head clear, but the ball skims off the top of his head and across to Willock, who, on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, sticks out a leg and guides the ball across Fabianski, off the right-hand post, and in!
Updated
45 min: There will be two additional minutes to this first half.
44 min: Murphy wins a corner down the left. The set piece is lumped into the mixer. Murphy tries to carefully sidefoot goalwards, but gets it all wrong. West Ham attempt a quick counter, looking long for Benrahma, but Krafth is quickly across to cover.
43 min: Tell you what, though, had Zouma scored from that corner, it’d have been interesting to hear the reaction. A moral dilemma, right there. “Between kicking a cat and killing a journalist, maybe everyone should just boo each other constantly,” suggests Ian Copestake, who may be onto something.
41 min: Bowen nearly breaks clear down the inside-right channel, but Burn comes across to poke out for a corner. Zouma wins a header but can’t direct it goalwards. West Ham come again through Bowen down the right. He drops a shoulder to get into the box, and whistles a low shot towards the bottom right. Dubravka gets down to smother.
40 min: Rice heads the corner clear. The ball’s returned into the mixer. Shelvey competes for it, and goes down, shoved in the back. He doesn’t claim for a penalty, which is just as well because the referee isn’t interested in awarding one.
39 min: Murphy works his way down the left and wins a corner off Fredericks. Corner, and a chance to hit back.
37 min: A cross from the Newcastle left. Wood rises high, but Fabianski leaps higher, punching away from the big Toon striker just in time.
36 min: Antonio is down having taken a whack upside his head. Off he goes. A quick check. And now he’s back on.
34 min: That was a hell of a delivery from Cresswell, and a fine header to match. Newcastle didn’t do a great deal to stop it all unfolding, mind. Krafth lost his man, standing stock still with a confused look on his face.
Updated
GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Newcastle (Dawson 32)
Krafth is booked for cynically bringing Antonio down on the left. The resulting free kick is curled in by Cresswell. Dawson times his run perfectly, and he’s got a free header, 12 yards out. He smacks a downward header into the bottom left, giving Dubravka no chance. Easy as that!
Updated
30 min: Schar crosses low from the right. Wood can’t control in the box. Newcastle are playing some nice football, but it’s not quite clicking in the final third.
29 min: Newcastle are winning most of the 50-50s at the minute. The home fans getting a little agitated, a few sighs, but no great drama.
27 min: Willock turns away from Rice and strides gracefully down the middle. He slips the ball wide left for Targett, who hits a low cross towards a crowded six-yard box. The ball’s blocked and rebounds off the Newcastle left back, out for a goal kick. An unlucky end to a smooth move.
26 min: Murphy loops harmlessly over the bar from the edge of the West Ham box.
25 min: Murphy barges Bowen from behind and is fortunate not to go into the book. Just a quiet word from the ref. Some booing, for once not directed at Zouma, in response to the non-decision.
23 min: Wood bullies Zouma off the ball down the Newcastle right. He whips a low cross into the six-yard box. A lovely teasing ball, but there’s nobody there in Newcastle black. West Ham hack clear.
Updated
22 min: Bowen plays a cute ball down the right for Antonio, who goes for power from a tight angle. The ball sails miles over the bar.
21 min: Fredericks could have had an assist to his name; now he’s got a yellow card for cynically barging Willock, in flight down the left, off the ball.
20 min: Fredericks flicks a header down the right to release Bowen into the box. Bowen lashes goalwards from a tight angle. Dubravka tips the rising drive onto the bar and away. The ball’s bundled out for a corner on the left. Nothing comes from that. West Ham so close to the opener!
18 min: Murphy skedaddles down the left and crosses low. Zouma, undeterred by the opprobrium, intercepts calmly and clears.
16 min: Schar rakes a long pass down the right in the hope of finding Wood. Zouma comes across to blooter clear. More boos, then some singing, as reported by Ben Bronx: “West Ham United continuing to start Kurt Zouma is a disgrace. No surprise that the Newcastle United fans are booing him every time he touches the ball. Also a chant ringing around the London Stadium: Hey, hey Zouma (Ooh aah), I wanna know how you kicked that cat.”
14 min: After some interminable faffing, Bowen floats a long diagonal free kick into the box. Soucek competes with Krafth, and expects a corner, the ball coming off the Newcastle man, but the referee points for a goal kick. Some mild fuming ensues.
12 min: Bowen makes good down the right and crosses. Blocked by the seat of Targett’s pants. The crowd holler for a penalty, but come off it. Bowen comes again down the right, nutmegging Krafth and getting bodychecked for his cheek. Free kick on the touchline, and a chance to load the box.
11 min: West Ham finally get something going in attack. Antonio picks up possession on the edge of the Newcastle box. He hesitates before shooting, allowing Targett to spread himself and block.
10 min: Dawson comes high-kicking in on Fraser. A clumsy knee in the ribs. VAR has a look, but there’s no interest in punishing the West Ham defender.
Updated
8 min: Newcastle continue to pour forward. Targett makes his way down the left and crosses for Fraser, whose first time shot is deflected away from the goal. The visitors are first to everything at the moment.
7 min: Predictable boos for Zouma when he touches the ball. He’s also getting pelters via the medium of the comedy inflatable.
5 min: Krafth sends a long throw into the West Ham box from the right. The whistle goes. Foul throw. The pressure on the hosts finally released.
4 min: Nothing comes of the second corner, but this is a confident start by Newcastle. West Ham are still cold.
3 min: A free kick for the Toon out on the right. Schar hoicks a long diagonal ball into the West Ham box. It drops to Joelinton, on the corner of the six-yard box. West Ham snoozing. Joelinton goes for goal. Fabianski blocks out for a corner, and a game of pinball breaks out. Murphy has a dig. Blocked. The ball twangs over the bar for another corner.
2 min: Newcastle get on the ball quickly, and stroke it around awhile. The confidence of a team on a three-win tear-up.
West Ham get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes the knee. There’s no room for racism.
The teams are out! It’s a miserable day in the East End. Rain coming down in stair rods. But it’s not totally grim: the wind has dropped, the pitch will be slick, and there are pretty bubbles in the air. West Ham wear their famous claret and blue, Newcastle sport second-choice black. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
Eddie Howe speaks to BT Sport. “The attitude and commitment of the team has been of the highest level. Out of possession we’ve been very good. That’s given us a way of staying in the game, and confidence has slowly returned. The last three games we’ve been happy with what we’ve delivered. There’s a change to our back line, but we believe in the players coming in, so I don’t think it’s too big a disruption. Allan Saint-Maximin was kicked against Aston Villa and it’s a knock that keeps him out today.”
David Moyes talks to BT. “We lost points at Manchester United in the last minute, so getting one at Leicester in the last minute was really good. Every point at this stage is really important. We think Kurt Zouma is OK. Lanzini picked up a knock in training, and Coufal has a problem with his hernia, but that gives a couple of players an opportunity. See if we can freshen it up and go again.”
Kurt Zouma returns after illness, replacing Issa Diop, who drops to the bench. Said Benrahma and Ryan Fredericks are also recalled, in place of the injured Manuel Lanzini and Vladimir Coufal.
Newcastle have a couple of big misses. Allan Saint-Maximin is out for a couple of weeks, while Kieran Trippier could be done for the season as a result of his fractured foot. Javier Manquillo is also absent. Jacob Murphy, Emile Krafth and Matt Targett step into the breach.
The teams
West Ham United: Fabianski, Fredericks, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals, Antonio.
Subs: Yarmolenko, Vlasic, Areola, Noble, Diop, Johnson, Kral, Alese, Chesters.
Newcastle United: Dubravka, Krafth, Schar, Burn, Targett, Willock, Shelvey, Joelinton, Fraser, Wood, Murphy.
Subs: Dummett, Lascelles, Fernandez, Almiron, Darlow, Gayle, Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, De Bolle.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire).
Preamble
Two upwardly mobile teams here, albeit ones at different stages of the project. West Ham United, after years, decades, centuries of faff, look like finally getting their act together, with Europa League glory and Champions League football very real prospects. Newcastle meanwhile have recently become the richest club in the world, are currently winning their battle against relegation, and are looking forward to a summer of spend, spend, spending. Neither have reached their promised land yet, though, so three points this lunchtime would do very nicely indeed. Kick off is at 12.30pm GMT. It’s on!
