West Ham claimed only its second Premier League win of the season — and first at home in eight months — by rallying to beat Newcastle 3-1 on Sunday.
Jacob Murphy’s fourth-minute opener for Newcastle, which came seconds after Jarrod Bowen struck the post at the other end, failed to spark what proved to be a sluggish performance by the visitors.
Instead, West Ham grew more into the game and after Lucas Paqueta equalized in the 35th minute with a long-range
shot that crept inside the near post, Newcastle defender Sven Botman stretched to block a cross but only succeeded in turning the ball into his own net in first-half stoppage time.
Substitute Tomas Soucek added a third for West Ham in second-half stoppage time.
West Ham, whose last home win was against Leicester on Feb. 27, stayed in the relegation zone but climbed above Nottingham Forest into third-to-last place. Forest was the only team West Ham had previously beaten this season.
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo had collected just one point from his first four games in charge after replacing Graham Potter.
Newcastle stayed in 13th place in the 20-team league and is failing to reproduce its exploits in other competitions this season, having won two of its three Champions League matches and advanced to the quarterfinals of the English League Cup.
Anthony Gordon and Nick Woltemade were withdrawn at halftime by Newcastle manager Eddie Howe after ineffective displays.
Later, Manchester City hosts Bournemouth, with second place the prize for the winner.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
