Newcastle United returned to St James’ Park for one final time this season, with manager Eddie Howe pretty much locked into the position but still needing to do enough to convince PIF he’s the top man to be in charge of the squad.
And in a matchup against a Championship-level side, the Magpies delivered their second win in a row, beating the Hammers 3-1 inside JSP and pretty much sealing their relegation on the spot.
It
was a day for farewells, with Kieran Trippier playing his final home match before leaving the club this summer, and with Anthony Gordon (99% likely) and Emil Krafth (guaranteed) joining him on the way out of Tyneside. And hey, judging by those postgame goodbyes, even in the final home match of the season, who’s to say Bruno and Sandro Tonali weren’t waving adieu to the Geordie faithful?
Back to the start of the game, the Magpies started aggressively and took the lead in the 15th minute after a poor pass from Mads Hermansen allowed Harvey Barnes to intercept and cross for Nick Woltemade to volley home. Fifteen minutes. In his first start since forever. Goal scored. Maybe this is something Howe could keep doing in the future. Maybe, just maybe.
Just four minutes later, Newcastle doubled their advantage, with Bruno, Jacob Ramsey, and Barnes combining before William Osula side-footed home to put Newcastle up two.
West Ham struggled badly with Newcastle’s movement during the opening stages, forcing Nuno Espírito Santo into an early tactical switch after abandoning his back-three setup before the half-hour mark.
That adjustment improved the Hammer’s play slightly, but Newcastle continued to look dangerous through Woltemade and Osula, who did wonders in Howe’s shocking 4-2-3-1 system, perhaps the first time in five years he deviated from his favorite players and system—all at once, no less!
Osula found luck twice and scored his second goal of the match in the 65th minute after Joe Willock exchanged passes with him during a break forward, restoring Newcastle’s control after West Ham had started the half better than the game.
West Ham pulled one back through a long-range volley from Taty Castellanos after a defensive mistake from Sven Botman, briefly giving the visitors hope late in the game.
The Londoners pushed forward afterward and created further chances, but Newcastle managed the closing stages better than they had during several recent matches, not dropping points from a winning position since we can’t remember when. Better-late-than-never progress, so can’t complain.
The win marked back-to-back Premier League victories for Howe’s side after their second-half collapse this season, but it’s too late for the wins to move the needle.
For West Ham, the defeat leaves their Premier League survival hopes hanging by a thread heading into the final week of the season, with Tottenham having one game in hand and sitting a place and two points above them in the table.
Newcastle will finish the campaign away at Fulham next weekend, with the Magpies facing a team that has the same points through 37 games… with both—and many others—mired in a mediocre battle for finishing 10th in the table. Welp.
